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Living in an oasis
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Society When a bunch of people agree to make a difference to their lives, the effort shows. Y. SUNITA CHOWDHARY discovers
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For an ideal living A view of Pragati Nagar
It might be hot and humid elsewhere in Hyderabad but not here at Pragati Nagar in Kukutpally. A crystal clear and weed free lake called Ambheer Cheruvu greets you at the entrance to this Gram Panchayat. Spread over 850 acres, Pragati Nagar with abund
ant greenery all around has been developed not by architects, builders and designers but by a group of erstwhile Hyderabad Allwyn Ltd. employees who formed a housing society and built 725 houses in 2003. The community offers its residents a distinctive character and atmosphere for ideal living. The growth follows a master plan that emphasises community, elegance, privacy, convenience, and beauty that incorporates an unprecedented setting up of rules and regulations followed diligently by its residents.
Dayakar Reddy, Ex-Sarpanch says that they had saved a lot of money while constructing the houses, travelled as far as the North East and purchased huge logs of teak wood thus gaining on time, quality and even returned a collective sum of Rs. 50 lakh to the members.
As neighbours greet one another during cozy afternoon strolls, you can almost watch the spirit grow from your backyard. There is sprawling garden and a huge community hall. A church, mosque and temple are located on each side and the welfare association has taken an agency to distribute milk and has organised consumer stores too. They procure vegetables from the nearby Bharat Nagar mandi. Sale of cold drinks, gutkha is banned here and you can never find a beggar in the street.
Sudhir Reddy, Upa-Sarpanch says that the onus on finding jobs for able bodied people is on the Gram Panchayat. Plastic glasses are not allowed and plastic bags less than 20 microns not used by the people. Garbage is collected in bio-degradable and non-degradable bins. Each house owner takes care of at least two plants. Rain harvesting pits are located in every corner. There is a both a private and a government school and the area is prominently a no mosquito-zone. Fogging is undertaken periodically and the Sarpanch and ex-members attend work at the Gram Panchayat every day. Lakshmi Kumari another member says that maintain a complaint register at the panchayat office and effort is made to attend to their problem and solve it immediately. Pragati Nagar is apparently the first Gram Panchayat in the country to obtain an ISO certification. This place was initially under Bachpally Gram Panchayat Limits and the government in 1995 had issued a GO to form a new gram panchayat to bifurcate it from Bacchupally The residents in Pragati Nagar pay taxes to the local body and whatever funds is collected is used for development of this village. While pointing out at the community hall with AC facility, a recreation centre, gym and swimming pool, the Sarpanch’s heart swells with pride. He says, “There is so much love and unity amongst our residents that on the 10th anniversary of the village there was a picnic. The entire village consisting of eight thousand people bundled up into buses and partied the day leaving an entire empty village at the hands of security agency. The residents are more than content but the Sarpanch’s immediate aim is to do to provide a sewage treatment plant, find a place for a grave yard and a disposal area for garbage. This ‘model’ village within the noisy, polluted and growing city truly personifies Pragati.
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