The Times of India 22.08.2012
Gujarat municipal corporation waiting for 11th hour to begin work
HYDERABAD: The city municipal corporation clearly believes in miracles.
It is planning to doll up a six-km long stretch on NH-7 in Bahadurpura
for the COP 11 summit, but will take up the work only from the end of
this month, leaving it with just a month to complete the mammoth task.
The corporation has only now sanctioned Rs 4.34 crore for the
maintenance and beautification of this road leading to the Nehru
Zoological Park. Tenders for the work will be opened on August 28 while
the prestigious COP 11 summit is slated to begin on October 1.
The plan on paper is exhaustive including road laying, maintenance of
pavements and drains along the four COP 11 corridors __ Charminar to
Chandrayangutta via Falaknuma, Puranapul to Charminar, Puranapul to Mir
Alam and Puranapul to Khairtabad via high court and Begum Bazaar.
Officials admit that apart from pavement strengthening work carried out
in Afzalgunj a couple of weeks ago, no other work has been taken up so
far. GHMC officials are not too optimistic even now as they note that
their earlier attempts to get a contractor for this work did not meet
any encouraging response.
Officials have a near impossible task
on hand. Not only are there a number of religious structures including
chillas and dargahs jutting out on the road and blocking traffic, roads
and drains in neighbourhoods along NH-7 like Mecca Colony and Bilal
Nagar have been lying in a state of utter neglect.
"The highway
authority did widen the road a few times but they stopped it midway for
a number of reasons including the presence of religious structures. We
will have to see how iron grills of graves can be pushed back. Work in
Mecca Colony and Bilal Nagar will also be taken up as they are close to
the highway and delegates may wish to pass through those areas," said a
GHMC official.
That this stretch is critical is evidently not
lost on GHMC. "The zoo is a major biodiversity centre so it was
important that NH-7 be spruced up for COP 11. There was a review meeting
today for speeding up work in the South Zone," said Ravi Kiran, zonal
commissioner, GHMC. Other officials said a timeline for the work's
execution can only be given after the tenders are opened.
