Cutting across party lines, municipal corporators  have expressed
anguish and ire over the bad condition of roads in the Greater Hyderabad
limits.

Congress, TDP, MIM and BJP corporators, speaking at the
12th GHMC general body meeting here on Monday, told mayor M Majid
Hussain that people were facing untold hardships due to the pathetic
condition of roads. Except filling the potholes and other temporary
measures, the corporation failed to repair the damaged roads on a
permanent basis, they said. Even the recarpeted roads were brought back
to the old condition by just one spell of rain, they said.

After
hearing their outpouring, the mayor said a committee with all the floor
leaders and officials would be constituted to look into the extent of
the damage caused to the roads and would submit a report to the council
on the appropriate measures to be taken.

TDP floor leader
Singireddy Srinivas Reddy, who raised the issue, said roads were getting
battered even by a small rain and the contingency expenditure was going
waste. No comprehensive plans were chalked in the last four years to
solve the recurring problem, he said, adding that the city’s image took a
beating because of the bad roads.

BJP’s Bangari Prakash said that
when the GHMC was unable to maintain the roads properly in the present
limits, where was the need for the merger of 35 gram panchayats with it.
He demanded that a committee be appointed to look into the road damage.

Congress floor leader Diddi Rambabu said  people were facing a lot of  problems due to bad roads.

MIM
corporator Syed Abdul Haq said GHMC was wasting public money on road
repairs and no efforts were being made to lay roads in a scientific
manner so that they lasted at least for 15 to 20 years.    

Commissioner
MT Krishna Babu admitted that roads got battered by the incessant rains
since July but the damages were in patches. All the damaged patches
will be restored by October 10 at a cost of Rs 17 crore.

When
members disputed with the commissioner over the extent of damage, the
mayor asked them to provide a list of bad roads in their respective
divisions to the officials concerned for restoring them.