SPOT THE ROAD: The recent rain has worsened the pitiable condition of the West Marredpally main road in Secunderabad. — Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

HYDERABAD: It is final. Citizens of the twin cities have no option but to resign themselves to bad, potholed and dangerous roads this year too. Or at least till November, if one goes by the MCH Commissioner Sanjay Jaju's words in the wake of heavy rains that lashed the city. He ruled out re-carpeting of the battered roads till November at a press meet on Thursday.

Till the monsoon arrived, it was the standoff between the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad and its contractors over revising scheduled standard rates for repair works that held up road works.

Over 600 works, said to be worth over Rs.180 crores, were left in a limbo. By the time rates were revised and tenders were called for, rains struck the twin cities, and quite hard too.

Just promises

So, MCH's promise of repairing internal roads will stay unfulfilled again, as it was last year and the year before that too, thanks to monsoon.

MCH officials say tenders for works on internal roads, worth around Rs.20 crores, were called for recently, and these would be finalised by August first week. But even then, the possibility of taking up any work looks remote, courtesy the monsoon.

The results are already showing. Take a drive through West or East Marredpally, through Bowenpally or Borabanda. Roads like the Bagh Lingampally-Chikkadpally tell the same story.

Ditto with areas under Secunderabad Cantonment Board where officials were late in waking up to complaints on bad roads. By the time they finalised tenders for two roads, the election code of conduct and the monsoon came.

"Rows with contractors, monsoon, lack of funds, code of conduct... both MCH and the Cantonment will have some reason. But what about the commoner's right to decent civic amenities? If I'm late in paying bills, I'm penalised without fail. The same never applies to MCH, the Cantonment or their contractors. Why?" fumes J. Umeshwar Rao, a Picket resident.

"We should have taken up the works in February-March or at least before April. But there were lot of restraining factors on us," argues an SCB official.

Mumbai's case

In Mumbai, after the recent rains, the High Court pulled up the Municipal Corporation there, asking why action should not be taken against its contractors for the bad road conditions.

Will there be similar action here is what remains to be seen.

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