HYDERABAD: As the state gears up for early polls, residents of Ameenpur area near
Miyapur have decided not to vote if the roads in their area are not repaired. Traversing on the
pothole riddled stretches have already resulted in two miscarriages and many commuters in the area have ended up with spine ailments, complain residents.
Ameenpur, which was a
gram panchayat till about two months back, has now got the status of a
municipality, but residents rue that their pleas for better roads and streetlights have fallen on deaf ears. “I am six months pregnant. Since I heard about the miscarriages, I clench my belly while travelling on these roads,” said Anusha, a resident. “I have been living here for the past three years but haven’t seen any road works so far,” she added Members of the Ameenpur Joint Ventures Association (AJVA) protested against the government’s inaction earlier this week, armed with placards that read ‘No Roads, No Vote’ and ‘Save pregnant women’.
“It has been two months since Ameenpur became a municipality. But when we ask why the roads are not repaired, officials at the municipal office say they don’t have funds. We are taxpayers too, where is all our money going? Even the streetlights in the area don’t work. It’s an ordeal travelling at night,” said Ramakrishna Yadav, member, AJVA.
The residents had tweeted to MA&UD minister KT Rama Rao about their grievances. While KTR replied that assistance would be sent soon, no civic official has inspected the roads there so far.
Medical transport in the area too has taken a hit with many residents complaining that they are facing trouble taking patients to the hospital owing to tattered roads. “My father-in-law recently had a bypass surgery. Whenever we take him to the hospital for check-up, the bumpy road aggravates his pain,” said Bhanu Prasad, another resident.
Pic: Kartik Bhardwaj
