BRS Corporators Under Fire as Nizampet Residents Demand Action on Road Woes
Hyderabad: Nizampet residents demanded urgent action to address the perilous state of their roads, aggravated by rampant encroachments and neglect. At the centre of the controversy are BRS corporators Agam Pandu and Agam Raju, whose alleged role in encouraging encroachments has sparked outrage.
The issue pertains in the areas surrounding the 'Y' junction to Jaswanth Residency along the Surya School/NRI College road, where shops have encroached on public roads. Ranjith Kumar Kondimalla, a resident, told Deccan Chronicle, "This was a 40-ft road which has now reduced 15-feet due to numerous shops that began coming up here since a decade. Frequent traffic jams and accidents plague our roads which are worsened by the encroachments encouraged by the corporators who own these shops. Despite repeated pleas to the Nizampet Municipal Corporation (NMC) and our leaders, our grievances have fallen on deaf ears."
Kondimalla is one of the Kausalya Community Welfare Association members, who have highlighted the dire need for infrastructure improvements. "Our roads are congested and riddled with potholes, leading to a spate of accidents," they lamented in a collective plea addressed to authorities including the municipal commissioner and the Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, recently.
These are the same ward areas where a Class 2 student lost her life in an accident on August 2, 2023, when she fell on the road after the two-wheeler on which she was travelling hit a pothole and was run over. Recent weeks have seen a surge in accidents, including one where a local suffered severe head injuries leading to hospitalisation for three days, another where a delivery executive sustained ear and leg injuries, and a pregnant IT employee narrowly escaped harm after she skid, the residents said.
Adding fuel to the fire is the issue of open drains in Vasanthnagar and a burgeoning garbage dump with frequent burning incidents on the Hill Country of Nizampet, worsening the environmental and health hazards faced by residents. "Repeated concerns being raised over grievance portals too have been closed without being resolved," said Sai Teja, a resident of Vasanthnagar who had been "shouting at the top of his voice to get authorities to do their job."
When Deccan Chronicle reached out to NMC commissioner Rama Krishna Rao P., he admitted to the challenges faced by the municipality, but cited budgetary constraints. "About `15 lakh has recently been approved by the council for patchwork and I will attend to it soon. We have sought more for other pressing issues, including having send notices to shopowners regarding encroachments," he said.
BRS corporator Agam Raju asserted his ownership of the land and refuted claims of encroachment. "I provided the land for the construction of a 40-foot road on my own area and the presence of shops is not encroachment but legitimate usage," Raju claimed.
