Hyderabad: Biz in Rasoolpura takes a beating due to nala works

Hyderabad: Ever since the works of remodelling of bridge on Picket nala at SP Road and at Minister Road were taken up, it is not only the commuters who are facing inconvenience, but also the residents of the PG Road. Further, the eateries on the Rasoolpura stretch are also witnessing loss in business due to drop in customer footfalls due to ongoing works.

The residents of the area also complain of noise during the nights as heavy vehicles and buses pass through the area. Mahesh, a resident of PG Road said, "For the last two days, we are having sleepless nights. All we hear in the night is the continues honking of vehicles, and we have no idea for how long this will continue. Before the works began, this area used to be the less polluted. But now with the traffic diverted due to works, there is only noise and air pollution with continuous honking and release of harmful gases from the vehicles."

"It has become very difficult for us to sleep peacefully due to the noise pollution caused by the vehicles entire day. Thousands of vehicles pass through this area causing a lot of noise and air pollution," echoed another resident, Lokesh.

Similarly, the eateries on the stretch are also badly hit. A manager of a popular bakery in the locality said that about 50 to 70 per cent of sales have dropped since the Strategic Nala Development Programme works have started. Even the sales through food delivery companies have also dropped.

"Before the works began, our sales through these used to be around Rs 50,000 per day, but ever since the works began, the sales have seen a dip with only Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 a day," he added.

Even the sales of most popular ice cream parlours have also gone down drastically. "Our sales have dropped to about 50 to 70 per cent. The sales through food delivery companies have also gone down to 40 per cent," said the manager of a popular ice-cream joint in the area. A street food stall holder at PG Road rued that people were not preferring to eat at his kiosk as there is a lot of air and noise pollution by which the food gets unhygienic.