Hop, skip and jump: Daily routine of Nallakunta residents hit by delayed nala work
HYDERABAD: Residents of Nallakunta are risking their lives to manoeuvre their way on dug-up roads, holding onto scaffoldings and hopping their way, as incomplete works of the Strategic Nala Development Programme (SND) are hampering their daily life.
While the work was started on December 30, 2021, it is yet to reach the halfway mark at Nagamaiah Kunta. Incidents of residents and visitors slipping and falling have become a regular occurrence.
In the latest such incident that took place two weeks ago, a domestic help slipped and fell into a dug-up drain when it suddenly started raining. “How she survived the fall is a miracle. Imagine walking through this narrow path every single day, holding on to dear life,” said Ritesh Kumar, a resident of Padma Colony.
Residents said that their issues are not limited just to difficulty in movement either.
Jalli Kanakaiah, a resident and lawyer, said that existing drains have been tampered with and not fixed even when brought to the authority's notice. “There is not a single manhole in the vicinity now. To top it all, the silt and garbage the stream brings and leaves behind is horrible to witness,” he said.
At present, there are two sets of works underway in the area. The first is the widening of the Nagamaiah Kunta drainage network from Padma Colony to Shivanand Nagar (near Tilak Nagar bridge) via Fever Hospital in Koranti, at an estimated cost of Rs 39 crore.
The second is the construction of bridges near the Nalla Pochamma Temple on VST to Vidya Nagar Road, at an estimated cost of Rs 12 crore.
Sai Charan, a resident, said, “The work back then was already slow and the rains that followed resulted in work being halted due to inundation. Once work resumed, we noticed that the slab was being built a foot higher than it should be, which would only worsen the problem of flooding rather than fix it.”
After several letters, dharnas and calls to the authorities concerned, the original plan was rectified and verified by higher officials.
However, residents said that the change was only on paper and that work was being done as per the original plan. “When we pointed it out, we were told to either live according to this and threatened that they'll leave the works unfinished,” said Sunith Ashray K., a resident who lives in the vicinity.
Officials, however, dismissed the allegations.
Secunderabad zone superintending engineer Anil Raju said despite the design being changed on residents’ demand, they are continuing to obstruct work by bringing up faults.
The zonal commissioner of Secunderabad, B. Srinivas Reddy, passed on the buck to the superintending engineer, while executive engineer Srinivas Sripadi said he was occupied with “more important work at the moment.” GHMC chief engineer Kishan K. could not be reached.
