Failing to keep pace with change

HYDERABAD: It was once considered to be on the "outskirts" of the city. But the tremendous growth which the area witnessed in the last decade has made it very much a vital part of the city.
But Malakpet''s Municipal Colony has its own set of problems.
The locality now boasts of a corporate hospital, good educational institutions in and around the colony and today it is an ideal place for commercial activity.
But poor civic amenities remain a cause of concern as they fail to cater to the needs of the burgeoning population.
Being a low-lying area, with poorly managed drainage facilities, water inundates several areas during the rainy season. Traffic problems and non-functioning street lights haunt the people of the area.
The colony is surrounded by the Hyderabad Race Course on one side, the Municipal Market Yard and Yashoda Hospital on the other two sides.
The main road connects to Vijayawada national highway.
The Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) has constructed a public toilet on Race Course main road at a cost of over Rs 1 lakh. But, with no drainage connection, the discharge from the place flows on to the roads emanating a foul smell.
Either the authorities should connect it to the main sewerage lines and maintain it or close it down. The toilet has become a health hazard for local people.
V Rama Koteshwar Rao. H.No 94 SRT: The Municipal Market Yard adjacent to the locality pollutes the air. In summer, due to the red chillies being brought here in bulk, the air is filled with strong irritants that causes eye and respiratory problems.
A Srinivasa Rao. H.No 18 SRT: The MCH has to speed up the construction of a playground on the land beside the Prasannanjaneya Swamy Temple. The corporation is dumping debris to fill up the dried-up well on the plot, but it is not making any efforts to flatten it out. The Uday Nagar Resident''s Welfare Association had succeeded in stopping encroachments on the land.
K Shoban. H.No 64 SRT: Fruit vendors block the road near Yashoda Hospital during the summer months. At others times too, the heavy rush at the hospital creates traffic hurdles.
T P Dwarakanath. H.No 53 SRT: An auto repair garage situated near the road connecting to the Malakpet main road has been creating major traffic hurdles in the area. Autos are parked haphazardly on the road and the authorities hardly ever take steps to clear them.
M Chandrasekhar H.No 59 SRT: New sewerage lines were laid in the locality to solve the drainage overflow and jamming problems. But these have created a new problem. The roads were not paved either with tar or concrete and the houses are now filled with dust from these roads.