Hyderabad: Perennial civic issues remain unresolved

Considered to be one of the BJP strongholds, the Gowlipura division (ward 35) is traditionally dominated by Hindu community in the Old City area.

Spread over 2.5 sqkm, the division has 48,725 voters with a total population of around 67,000. It consists of major areas like Lal Darwaza, Gowlipura, Chatrinaka, Mehtar Mandi, Uppuguda, Maqdoom Nagar and some other areas. Around 40 per cent of the BC-women reserved division consists of slums.

For a decade, the Corporator is represented by the BJP which comes under the Yakutpura Assembly constituency. In 2016, Ale Lalitha won with 10,505 votes against 9,076 votes received by the nearest rival K Meena from TRS party.

Major issues troubling the residents of Gowlipura are lack of major developmental works in localities, as several areas need basic civic amenities. The division has a history of civic issues such as bad roads, contaminated water supply, severe sewage overflow, lack of UPHCs, parks or playgrounds, community halls and most importantly poor sanitation. The locality Bathukamma Bai is the largest slum in the division where most of the GHMC labourers reside. "For the last two terms, the BJP has been the winning party. Earlier Ale Jitender was the corporator and after the division has been declared as (BC) women reserved, his mother Ale Lalitha is the corporator. "The corporator representing BJP has not taken up any developmental works in the division and most of the locals are unaware about who the corporator is," pointed out K Venkatesh, a social activist. "Many of the developments works the corporator had promised remained unfulfilled. The division has only one basti dawakhana, but does not have a UPHC (Urban Primary Health Centre) as a result the residents have to visit private clinics for medical check-ups," he added.

"The division comprising a majorly of slums, the dwellers here have been demanding for 2-bedroom houses, but no initiative has been taken up," lamented Santosh, a resident of Mehtar Mandi.

The authorities have put education under low-priority in the area as there are no government schools and there are no plans to develop schools in near future. Besides this, there is no park or community hall or playground for children to play and recreational purposes. "A playground, community hall had come up, but some local leaders encroached upon them," said Ramanna, a resident of Gowlipura.

Another major problem is continuous overflow of sewage water which has become a perennial menace for the locals. "Most of the colonies have an outdated sewerage system burdened with increasing population which causes sewage overflow. For a permanent solution the system needs to be replaced with upgraded pipelines," pointed K Kartik of Lal Darwaza.

One of the prestigious projects, the area witnessed was the Uppuguda RuB (Railway Under Bridge), even though it provided some respite to commuters, but it has already turned into a major water stagnation point.