Bholakpur slum-dwellers remain accursed

Musheerabad: In a tragic case of civic negligence, residents of Bholakpur slum in Musheerabad have been left in the lurch after civic authorities dug-up a road here for laying a sewerage pipeline. In addition, civic problems are on the rise as dwellers are forced to sustain under improper streetlights and overflowing drains. Meanwhile, residents complain of negligence on part of authorities.

PROBLEMS AT A GLANCE
• Entire area has LED lights, yet slum-dwellers forced to survive under halogen ones
• Open drains pose threat to children and elderly
• Old sewerage pipeline blocked, however new one still not functional
• Drains overflow throughout the year
• Roads dug-up for months now

A resident of Bholakpur, Fayazuddin said that the locals are facing problem because of the dug-up road. He said that the bad road has now become a cause of concern as many people travelling on the stretch have been injured. “In particular, children and elder people are at risk as many accidents keep occurring,” he said.

Another resident Mohammed Wasim Uddin said that a month ago GHMC officials dug-up the road and that debris and boulders were left over the street. He said that officials changed the sewerage pipeline and blocked the old one, but as the flow is high it was leading to overflow of drains in the area. He opined that there was no coordination in the department because of which the dwellers are facing problems.

Commuters, too are fuming with fury on the state of the road. Mohammed Khaja, a commuter said that it has become difficult to travel on the dug-up stretch as vehicles are not able to pass. He lamented that the streetlights in the area are not working. “Whereas officials replaced high beam lights with LED lights across many areas in the city, but the department has not replaced the halogen streetlights here,” he said.

By Aneri Shah