Hyderabad: Here is some good news for morning walkers who have been deprived of open spaces. School grounds will be made into walking zones for residents who do not have open spaces for physical activities.
Over the last three days, the GHMC authorities have contacted schools zone-wise, and have asked those that have large playgrounds, to admit morning walkers before their working hours — precisely before 7 am, every day, at a minimal cost.
And now, since all schools are closed, they might make the grounds available for other activities. The first school to make this move is St Joseph High school, Habsiguda, while Pione-er school, Mailardev-pally followed suit.
However, these plans have been okayed only for senior citizens.
Common complaints by morning walkers are: stray dogs, garbage burning, no footpaths and above all, no open spaces. Also, there have been repeated complaints of pollution and dust caused by GHMC sweeping machines that operate during the wee hours. “There are too many street dogs in our colony. It is becoming difficult to go for a morning walk or move on the streets at any time during the day. The dogs are running all around. This is the result of uncleared garbage in the locality . It is very dangerous for children to move,” said Ms Sabita Rajan of Czech colony, Sanathn-agar- Erragadda.
Says GHMC Commissi-oner Dr B. Janardhan Reddy, “During a general inspection at Kundan bagh, I noticed that women walkers were finding it difficult to walk on the road due to the constant fear of being hit by a vehicle.
Adjacent to the road was a huge playground owned by Chinmaya Vidyalaya Hyderabad School which is locked. That’s when this idea developed. GHMC will act like a facilitator, the corporation will request the school management to let the ground be used for walkers. Initially we are asking them to give access to women, senior citizens and physically handicapped, under the category of school social responsibility.”
He added, “ There are not many open spaces available in the city to develop them. However, huge spaces are owned by educational institutions. The schools are free to charge what they want, the walkers will pay for the same . The schools will have the right to restrict entries and fix the timings”.
