Hyderabad: Lack of civic amenities in Jalpally municipality is a major deciding factor in the Maheshwaram constituency where Congress candidate K Laxma Reddy, BRS candidate P Sabitha Indra Reddy, and BJP’s A Srinivas are contesting in a neck-to-neck poll battle.
Dominated by the working class, there are close to 50 colonies in the Jalpally municipality and several pockets are deprived of basic civic amenities. Muddy paths pass off as roads in many residential areas while drinking water and sewerage lines remain a distant dream.
“Our colony is 20 years old. There are no roads and no proper street lights here. Drinking water is supplied once in four days and for regular needs we depend on borewells,” complained Masood, a resident of Abdullahnagar Colony near Osman Nagar Lake.
The conditions are same at Lubna colony and Venkatapur located near Abdullahnagar. “Leaders come, give assurances and go. The main road connecting Shaheen Nagar Osmania Hotel and Venkatapur was laid recently because of the elections. The residents had been demanding a proper road for a decade. Our pleas for basic civic amenities fall on deaf ears,” complained Syeda Sadia, a resident of Lubna colony.
Mosquito menace is rampant throughout Shaheennagar and its surroundings areas in Jalpally municipality. The residents spend a good part of their daily income on buying mosquito repellents. “Otherwise we fall victim to malaria and dengue. The municipality is not even equipped to undertake regular anti-larvae operations and fogging in its vast jurisdiction,” complains Raof, a resident of Shaheennagar.
The BRS leaders, however, claim that crores of rupees were spent on improving the civic amenities like roads, drinking water lines, drainage lines and street lights. “Dedicated sewerage network is developed. Drinking water lines were laid recently. Slowly we are reaching out to all the localities and in the next one year every cement roads will be laid,” assured a leader, on condition of anonymity.
