Hyderabad: Unfulfilled promises add to woes of locals

Shastripuram: With a total of 34,777 voters, the Shastripuram (ward 57) under Rajendranagar constituency has an array of civic problems due to the unfulfilled promises of RoB or RuB, sports complex and resolution of sewerage issues.

This ward under South Zone (GHMC) is primarily considered as a poverty-ridden locality with large slums like Hassanagar, Sulemannagar, Indranagar, Owaisi Hills, Ansari Road area and BK Puram.

The division which shares its boundary with a densely populated area of Bahadurpura constituency, is laced with civic issues such as pathetic sanitary condition, colonies filled with piled-up garbage, illegal constructions, encroachments over water bodies.

Amongst other issues, the railway crossing remains a major civic problem which is yet to be addressed. It became a perennial issue for several years as the area shares the roads with National Highway No. 44, PVNR Express Way, Shamshabad International Airport, National Police Academy Shivrampally and Nehru Zoological Park.

"People coming from all the directions have to stop for a minimum of 3 to 15 minutes depending upon the length of the impending train passing the crossing. The vehicles remain stranded in a serpentine queue for almost half a kilometer on both sides especially during the peak hours," informed Mohd Affan, owner of Al-Sana Hotel near the railway crossing.

"Several representations were made to corporator and MLA but no initiative has been taken, as promises and assurances of 'railway over bridge' (ROB) remain unfulfilled," rued Syed Shoukat Ali, a senior resident of Shastripuram Colony. It is said that a grade separator (ROB/RUB) was proposed at LC No. 7, Uddam Gadda, Shastripuram (for Secunderabad - Falaknuma - Shivrampally Railway Line) to allow free flow of the traffic from Mailardevpally to Falaknuma RTC Bus Depot in 2017 and the same was approved unanimously on cost sharing basis between the GHMC and the Railways.

As per the resolution 112 of the GHMC Standing Committee, the civic body would agree to bear 75 percent of the overall cost of four lane ROB project while the remaining 25 percent would be borne by the Railways at a cost of Rs 71 crore. However, nothing has been materialized so far and the situation remains the same adding hardships to the locals as well as the commuters.

The GHMC also proposed comprehensive development of a sports centre in Shastripuram Colony in 2018 with an estimated cost of Rs 600 lakh but this too failed to take shape even after two years. "All the development works aiming at Shastripuram ward remain on the paper," said Syed Shoukat.