Hyderabad: Sanitation issues haunt residents

As the much-awaited GHMC elections are about to unfold a new political scuffle soon, the unfulfilled civic promises would be a major poll issue in the south zone area, especially in Sulemannagar ward that is considered as a 'swing area' when it comes to elect any candidate at the last moment.

Located on the busy Shamshabad Road under the PVNR Expressway from Attapur to Dairy Farm crossroads, Sulemannagar ward No 57 is a major slum in Rajendranagar constituency. It has a total voter strength of 38,309 for which five polling stations have been designated. Abida Sultana is the present corporator of the BC reserved (women) category, who got elected with 15,410 votes against Saritha who polled 2,430 votes.

Generally, this ward is primarily considered as a poor locality that shares its boundaries with other large slums like Hassanagar, Indranagar and Kishanbagh etc. "Sanitation is the major issue that always haunts the residents every day. One can witness a stinking ambience with the streets always filled with overflowing sewage water and heaps of garbage every few meters. Despite several complaints and representations no political party gives a hoot to the issues," ruled Mohd Chand, a resident.

"Leaders occasionally visit but the issues remain unsolved. People have become used to the flowing sewerage and unattended sanitation as officials too adopted a temporary approach to these issues. Also, there is a perennial issue of mosquitoes here because of the Mir Alam tank standing very close to the area. Several complaints for removal of algae from the water body have gone in vain," said, Mohd Zameer, another resident.