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.
