Jeedimetla Heavily industrialised

Jeedimetla was once a small village in Hyderabad. It is now one of the major areas that are well-developed industrially. It is surrounded with industrial workers’ quarters, residential and commercial apartments. Jeedimetla was declared as an industrial area in 1950 along with Patancheru and Katedan.

Jeedimetla is about 12 kilometres from the city. It is located between Medak and Nagpur highways. Other than the Metro Rail project that is coming up, there aren’t any trains connecting this place. The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is about 45 kilometres away and the Air Force Academy, Dundigal, is about 9 kilometres from here. One of the biggest cardiac hospitals, the Usha Mullapudi Cardiac Centre (UMCC) is located in Jeedimetla.

The Jeedimetla Industrial Area, as the name suggests, is popular for its industries. The downtown features a number of small and large industrial units. The industrial area is divided into small localities featuring different manufacturing blocks. HMT Colony is one good example that illustrates the characteristic of the place.

Important industries located in the region are those of machine tools, pharmaceuticals, electrics, textiles and chemicals. Hetero Drugs Ltd has two formulation and two API manufacturing facilities located here.

Most of the residents in this area are employed in various industries in the area. Local markets, healthcare institutes, schools and other institutions are present to cater to the need of the residents. Some residential places in the area include Padmanagar, Chintala and Ayodhya Nagar.

Shapurnagar, Roda Mistry Nagar, Saibaba Nagar, APIIC Colony, Jairamnagar, Ayodhyanagar, Chintal, Bagathsingh Nagar, Qutubullapur, Apuroopa Colony, Suraram Colony, Kukatpally, etc are close by. Jeedimetla serves as the most industrialised areas in Hyderabad. But as the Hyderabad has grown, a large number of industries have come up in places beyond Jeedimetla.

History

According to locals and senior members, in the 1940s and 50s, it was a great place for agriculture and allied activities, as the historic Fox Sagar was located nearby. In those days, Jeedi Mamidi (fruits) tress grew abundantly in this area, and in course of time, the area came to be popularly known as Jeedimetla.

Problems

Pedda Narsimha (70), who was born and brought up at Jeedimetla, said, “During our days, most of the land was used for agriculture. Since 1950 onwards, after making the area as an industrial zone, thousands of small, medium and large scale industries polluted the air and underground water, which has become unfit for drinking. The groundwater is completed unusable and the air is polluted due to massive release of toxic gases.”

Due to massive urbanisation in the past three decades, many apartments and residential complexes have come up. The residential communities have raised complaints with the governments to relocate the industrial zone of Jeedimetla to some other place near the Outer Ring Road. The government has issued instructions in this regard, but no concrete developments have taken place till date.

Adapa Keshava Rao,a member of the Laxmi Ganga Enclave, said, “Air pollution is causing health hazards to the residents. The underground water is totally polluted due to industrial effluents and is unfit for drinking purposes. The water can’t be used unless water treatment plants are installed.”

He appealed to the government and concerned authorities to relocate the industrial zone to other appropriate places.