HYDERABAD: It seemed a case of so near yet so far for the fire victims of Singareni Colony of Saidabad who had lost their shelter two years ago and waited for the promised Vambay houses.

Their long wait to move into pucca houses seems to be finally over.

The devastating fire that engulfed the colony in February 2005 razed 3,024 huts to the ground. Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy who visited the fire ravaged colony then promised the devastated slum dwellers that pucca houses would be constructed in the same area and allotted to them in a year's time.

True to his assurance, an impressive colony under the Vambay scheme took shape in G+3 pattern and the 1,792 flats constructed in the first phase won appreciation from all quarters for the speedy progress and quality construction.

The fire victims who were taking temporary shelter in the nearby land were witness to their `dream' taking shape brick by brick but the delay in actual allotment even after one year of construction led to a demonstration by them in front of the Collectorate last week. The delay in finalising the list was because the district administration was grappling with the tricky issue of keeping the `later day' contenders for the housing scheme at bay while ensuring that only the genuine victims got into the priority list of allotment, district Collector R. V. Chandravadan told The Hindu .

List ready

"The colony is ready along with infrastructure facilities and the allotment list. It is only a matter of time now before the Chief Minister inaugurates it and the beneficiaries move into their houses," he added.

The construction was completed in the record time and subsequently infrastructure facilities like internal roads, street lighting, drainage and water lines were provided by the Municipal Corporation and Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board, he said. "Our priority for allotment is to those who had lost their hutments in 2005 fire accident.

All the victims then were enumerated, given identity cards and ex gratia and that list was made the basis for finalising the allotment for the 1,792 houses constructed in the first phase," he said. The remaining eligible beneficiaries would be allotted houses in the next phase to be taken up later. The iris of all beneficiaries was also captured to rule out any discrepancies, the Collector said.

Another colony

Another Vambay colony with 1,000 houses constructed in G+3 pattern for rehabilitation of nala encroachers in Kukatpally was also complete and will be inaugurated along with this colony, he said.

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