Denizens take to Twitter to bemoan civic issues

Bahadurpura: Following the lack of response from the GHMC officials on their concerning civic issues, the residents of Old City have adopted to contemporary ways to grab the attention of higher ups by engaging themselves actively on social media platforms, especially Twitter. They hope that not just the higher officials, but concerned Minister also responds to their complaints.

For instance, for more than 3 months, the residents of Bahadurpura near Kamela road have been complaining about the regular drain overflow near Sree Rama Theater to the GHMC, as well as the HMWSSB officials. Upon receiving no response from the officials, they started tweeting by tagging Minister of MA&UD, K Taraka Ramarao, Principle Secretary, GHMC, HMWSSB, GHMC Zonal Commissioner and other officials. After several attempts and requests to officials most of the locals have now taken a step forward and become active on social media for complaining.

The residents and nearby shopkeepers are suffering a lot from the drain overflow in the area. The drain overflow is seen from Sree Rama Theater to the entire road near Kamela. "The entire road is filled with drain water. Due to this drain overflow and water stagnation, a nearby mechanic contracted dengue, whose condition remains serious," said Abdul Rahman, a social activist.

Apart from residents, the commuters have also expressed concerns and hardships they face every day, as the entire stretch is affected, along with a major damage to the existing road. "As several complaints to the GHMC Executive Engineer (EE) remained unheeded, the locals have decided to get active on social media and started tweeting by tagging the higher officials and hoping for a positive response," he added.

The residents said that they have requested both GHMC and HMWSSB officials to fix the overflow issue and not even a single time they have visited the area. We demand for the joint survey of GHMC and HMWSSB officials for the permanent solution of the problem, said Mohammed Amjed, a resident.

On Wednesday, the waterworks department responded to their tweets and assured that the issue would soon be resolved. Recently on a different issue, after officials of GHMC and HMWSSB failed to pay heed, TDP's Greater Hyderabad Minority Vice President Mohammed Ahmed decided to take up the matter with the Minister and Principal Secretary, who actively respond to grievances posted on twitter by citizens.

The of late became active on Twitter with the hope of connecting to the higher-ups. This prompted the HMWSSB officials to respond within few days, who promised to rectify the problem.