A do-gooder turned corporator as Samala Hema

Seethaphalmandi: Attaining power at the age of just 23 years, Seethaphalmandi Corporator Samala Hema is undoubtedly one of the youngest leaders from the Telangana Rastra Samithi party who won the 2016 municipality elections with a bumper majority of 15,344 votes against TDP candidate Mekkala Keerthi. 

An IT employee who had worked in Genpact and Google previously, Hema in an exclusive interview with The Hans India shares that she never had a political inclination and in fact, like any commoner, she too imagined it to be the way it used to be shown in films, full of villainous people. 

But two years down the memory lane, the corporator says that working closely with people in the society has taught her lot and that her opinion on political leaders had seen a drastic change over these two years.

" It was my father Karate Raju and Minister Padma Rao who insisted my name to be proposed for the municipal elections as I already had a good name amongst the people of my constituency and I am basically an accommodating person. 

But believe it or not, I felt very uneasy. When they said I had to campaign for nearly-two and-a-half months, my mind went blank. Thankfully, Padma Rao uncle and the party cadre stood strong by me during that phase. 

We would go lane to lane, interact with people and make a note of the problems they were facing thereby making them a part of our agenda. Luckily, since I too grew up in the neighbourhood and my father was known to all, it was easier for me to connect with the public." recollects the corporator.

Hema says that being from a non-political background, she had no clue about the responsibilities of a corporator and had to train herself every day to perform her duties. From taking part in every activity organised by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation authorities to hosting welfare programmes initiated by the State government, the 25-year-old feels it was no less than a herculean task. 

" Although I take every decision concerning to the programmes of the municipal corporation by myself, for major issues like land encroachments, police-related cases or big development projects, I make sure that I consult with the ten ward members I have. Along with activities undertaken by other corporators, I try to have a team meeting with the ward members twice a month unofficially to keep a track on the works going on or are pending to be done," explains Hema.

Apart from conducting regular inspections in different parts of the constituency, Hema and her envoy are keenly focusing on issues related to women empowerment, employment and irrigation work in the area. 

" I remember how my mother and I used to carry drinking water home from a tap on the main road. Being a slum area, water and sanitation are two major hurdles here. So, over last two years, we have ensured sufficient potable water for all the houses and have also been involved in a lot of drainage renovation activities to maintain hygiene levels in Seethaphalmandi. 

Moreover, we have conducted several job melas in collaboration with companies I had contacts in, to ensure the youth become breadwinners in their families. In fact, many women were given skill training for free in order to break stereotypes prevailing in the male-dominated society of ours. 

All of this would not have been possible without the support of the party cadre for which I remain indebted to Padma Rao and my father who gave me this opportunity," gleams the young Corporator.

With no specific budget allocations for the constituency, Hema and her envoy mostly depend on the minister's fund of MLA T Padma Rao and on sanctions by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation causing delays in the developmental activities given the time it takes for money to flow in. 

" Ever since I have taken oath as a corporator, I have ensured to work on every promise I have made to the people. While many small problems of sewerage issues and water troubles are addressed, a few big projects are in the pipeline or are being constructed. 

Irrespective of time, I take calls of my area people and even if I am in midst of some meeting, I make time to telephone them and address their grievances. But the only problem I face is co-ordination between the government employees. 

For instance, recently a school principal requested that a tree be cut as it was posing danger to lives of children there. I had reported this to the GHMC staff and even two days after the call, they still give excuses like there are electrical wires, who should be called etc. How can a corporator keep reminding the officials of their duties This problem only arises with the junior level employees,’ reveals Hema.