The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : A ‘Mahal’ full of woes

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 27, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

A ‘Mahal’ full of woes

Overflowing drainage, pigs haunt Harsha Mahal Colony

Official apathy: The civic conditions in Harsha Mahal, Kishanbagh colonies near the banks of Mir Alam Tank are pathetic.

HYDERABAD: The drain water here flows like a small rivulet twisting and turning inside the alleys of the hutments before draining onto the Kishanbagh main road. A swarm of mosquitoes hover over the complete length of this stream of drain water.

Further inside the Harsha Mahal Colony, along the banks of Mir Alam Tank, a huge pile of garbage lies unattended. Pigs, stray dogs and mosquitoes can be spotted wallowing in this slush pile. An outsider cannot withstand the stench for a moment. Adults of this colony do not allow children to venture out here.

Squalid environs

Despite this, children of Harsha Mahal wage a relentless battle with frequent ailments. One can easily make out from their pale faces that the menace of mosquitoes and the abominable civic scene is taking its toll on them. The squalid environs at Harsh Mahal are in stark contrast to the relatively clean and calm Mir Alam Tank.

Last year, when cases of dengue, chikungunya and malaria broke out in large numbers from Harsha Mahal, Kishanbagh, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy along with health officials visited Kishanbagh. “They have constructed underground drainage system but have not activated it. They promised us to do it in three months, but now it’s almost a year. Nobody ventures here to collect garbage,” points out Rubina Khatun, a resident here.

“Municipality officials do not bother to come this far. They collect garbage and treat stagnated water along the main road of Kishanbagh. Last year, they had conducted a medical camp, since then nothing much has happened,” informs Syed Azeez, a daily wage earner from here.

However, even the nearby colonies like Sikh Chawli also suffers with similar fate due to official indifference. “Nobody comes here and nobody is bothered about the health and sanitation at Kishanbagh,” is the most common refrain among residents here.

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