Hyderabad: Residents link voting to water
Hyderabad: Residents of new colonies in Rajendranagar have decided to highlight the problem of water scarcity by declaring a boycott of the April 11 Lok Sabha elections.
New colonies like Khizra Enclave, Kohinoor Colony, Happy Homes, Pasha Colony, Bayoot Colony, Classic Enclave, Saba Colony, Sultan Colony and Dollar Hills have come up over the last two decades.
The residents are facing a water problem as there is no pipeline supply. They are dependent on groundwater and private water tankers.
Dr Mohammed Ali, president of the Khizra Enclave Welfare Association, said politicians of every party had approached them during the previous elections and promised to provide drinking water facilities but no one came forward to solve the problem.
“We purchase water from private suppliers but in the summer they are not in a position to cater to our requirements as many borewells dry up. Almost 12,000 voters stay in the surrounding colonies and public representatives are neglecting their problem,” Dr Ali said.
“We are not demanding that the pipelines be laid right now but we are requesting the authorities to provide us water through tankers for which we are ready to pay,” he said.
Dr Ali said the residents had held a demonstration with empty cans to sensitise the officials. “We have decided to keep away from polling until the problem solved. We are not allowing vote-seekers into our enclave. Residents of many surrounding colonies have decided to refrain from voting,” he said.
Mr P. Kalyan, general secretary of the association, said, “Public representatives are not showing interest in solve our problems. They express concern during the elections but forget us afterwards.”