Hyderabad: Ruling party turned blind to our woes says Residents at Gudimalkapur Division

Gudimalkapur (Ward No.71), an area that is reminiscent of the famous vegetable market amidst residential quarters, witnessed a tough competition between the TRS and the BJP in the previous GHMC elections. TRS was able to capture the seat by securing 12,685 votes, while BJP came second by pulling 7,117 votes.

However, there was a stark contrast between the registered number of votes and actual number of votes polled in 2016, as only 21,516 voters out of 48,322 registered electors franchised their right. With an increase of 2,842 votes during the last four years, this ward which is reserved under BC category now has a total number of 51,164 votes.

Similar to the last elections, this time, too, there are 10 candidates contesting the election, who include incumbent Bangari Prakash (TRS), D Karunakar (BJP), N Venu Goud (Congress), A Surender Singh (TDP) and independents M Karthik Yadav, Giri Karuna, P Srinivas, Madhav Rao Bekkam, Mohammed Abdul Azeem and Sattar Gulam.

Despite represented by the ruling party, this ward is reeling under an array of issues such as lack of proper sanitation, irregular garbage removal, lack of sewerage lines, supply of polluted water, no proper streetlights, open drains, broken manhole covers and pothole-ridden roads besides encroachments over water bodies.

Most of the unresolved issues are from areas such as Taleem Amlapur, Daiwada, Ramaiwadi, Joshiwada, Heeranagar, Boja Gutta (Noor Ghat Ka Pahad) and Mahboob Colony. "Elected representatives and leaders seldom visit the areas and complaints with regard to civic issues weren't addressed on time. Civic issues are always put under pendency for days to months, thereby forcing us to grin and bear," said Rahul Gaikwad, a resident of Daiwada, Guddimalkapur.

"No proper roads and sanitation are the primary issues that have not been addressed systematically. The GHMC officials and the staff pay least heed to our complaints. Roads are always filled with overflowing sewerage while heaps of garbage could be seen every few meters on the roads and in colonies.

Also, no adequate number of government dispensaries is causing more woes to the residents," informed Mohan, a resident of Ramaiwada, Guddimalkapur.