Hyderabad: Osmangunj business hit hard as nala works prolong

Afzalgunj: The business at one of the major markets, Osmangunj, has been affected due to the ongoing civic works since the past 4-months. Besides this, the torrential rains during monsoon brought the entire market to its knees and businessmen continued to face huge losses.

The nala widening works which are going at a snail's pace between Moazamjahi market and Afzalgunj have forced the closure of the road and diversion of traffic. Famous for ginger and garlic the civic works have impacted some 300 big and small traders. According to the traders, each year during monsoon Osmangunj and Begum Bazar areas get flooded with sewerage water due to nala overflow. And in recent rains, the market was inundated with 3-4 feet of water for 2-3 days and traders faced huge losses amounting to several lakhs of rupees.

"The Osmangunj nala works which began in the first week of July are still in progress. We request the concerned officers to complete the works at the earliest," said Sreenu, a trader selling ginger and garlic. "The traders who faced losses due to lockdown, now this nala works are adding to their woes. The delay in completion of nala works has affected our livelihood. During the recent rains and flooding our stocks were also washed away," said M Mahesh, a trader of dry chillies. "Earlier, we used to sell ginger garlic in huge quantities. But now due to the ongoing works, the customers are avoiding this route and sales have decreased by 60 per cent," added Mahesh.

The drainage canal work at Osmangunj was started in July after an amount of Rs 2.55 crore was sanctioned. When contacted, the officials said the works were in progress and would be completed soon. Apart from Osmangunj market, the other shops on the stretch were also severely affected due to ongoing works.