The Times of India 27.08.2012
Civic apathy queer’s pitch for park
HYDERABAD: It has been around five years now that the residents of East
Marredpally’s Teachers’ Colony have waited for the proposed GHMC park
and playground to come up in their area. But all that the officials
concerned have to show for the playground is two half-completed pillars
for the basketball court with garbage bins adorning the entrance and a
ground covered in wild bushes and weeds. Residents lament the
authorities’ apathy and complain about a corrupt politician who they feel is responsible for the delay.
“The condition of the place is pathetic right now as the area has been
neglected for quite some time. Once in a while some workers turn up and
start some minor activity but, within a couple of days, work is stopped
again for long periods of time. There definitely is some political
pressure behind this,” alleged Rajan D Ayaganollu, secretary of the
locality’s residents’ welfare association.
Sources claimed that the local MLA has been demanding a certain commission from the contractor
before the work is taken up in right earnest. But since it is not a
big-budget project, the contractor could not cough up the amount
resulting in the prolonged delay.
Meanwhile, it is the residents
who have to suffer as the shabby site is now attracting several
anti-social elements. Ayaganollu said, “People from nearby slums arrange
wedding parties and gatherings on this open space, leaving it strewn
with stale food and other garbage. We have also found broken liquor
bottles there.” Residents said miscreants have also started stealing
metal rods from the fence around the ground.
“We have complained
several times to GHMC officials but to no avail. It seems like even
their hands are tied due to political pressure,” said Vijayraghavan K,
another resident who has also filed an RTI plea regarding the matter on
June 23 but is still awaiting reply. Residents of the colony had many
plans to use the park and the playground to organise community events
and construct rainwater harvesting pits, all of which have now been
indefinitely put on hold.
When asked, GHMC officials were quick to point fingers at the residents. Hari Krishna, zonal commissioner,
GHMC, said, “The plan was approved and Rs 4 lakh and Rs 6 lakh
sanctioned for the park and the playground respectively, some time
around the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011. But the residents of
the area wanted the area earmarked for the park to be changed into a
playground and vice-versa. That held up the beginning of the work for
around six months, resulting in further delay.”
However, hinting
at the possibility of a certain corrupt individual trying to delay the
work, a GHMC source said, “The problem was with the initial delay
itself. When a work gets delayed and postponed in the beginning, people
start thinking that it is a major work and something could be gained
from it.”Officials said the work will resume soon and will be completed within a month.