Farm land turns into a residential hub

Society formed by a group of government officials purchased land for 14 paise per square yard

A view of Madhuranagar Main Road. Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

What was a farm land where canary seeds (gantlu) were cultivated, 50 years ago, has become a semi-residential colony with more than 600 households.

Located amidst temples – Ramadhuta Hanuman (south), Durga Ganapati (east) and Vijaya Ganapati (west) apart from GVMC Elementary School in the north, the origin of Madhuranagar Colony dates back to 1964 when the place was less explored. Eventually, after a few years, a cooperative society was formed by a group of government officials who purchased the plots from the farmers for 14 paise per square yard. Now, each square yard costs Rs. 80,000 approximately.

“Decades ago, there were only a few independent houses in the colony. However, the place came to life when the society members started building independent houses and apartments. A few of the apartment floors are occupied by the businessmen while rest of the floors are occupied by residents, contributing to the semi-residential culture,” says K. Surya Prakash, who has been living in the colony for the past 40 years.

The colony now has 200 independent houses and 30 apartments. For women, life in Madhuranagar moves at a slow pace. Since most of them are homemakers, they spend their free time watching daily soaps on the telly. “Our cooking job is almost done once children go to school and men to the workplace. The rest of the time we spend watching telly shows and serials,” says G. Bhaskaram, a homemaker.

No water scarcity

Several plywood shops dot the place, especially near Shankar Matham Road. Colony residents find the area quite convenient as it is centrally-located and close to RTC complex.Water scarcity is something the colony people have never heard of.

However, the semi-residential colony suffers from air pollution. Apart from the dusty roads, residents complain of high levels of noise pollution. And that the prolonged exposure to dust and noise is affecting their health.

Despite the constant vehicular movement on Sankar Matham Road, the stretch continues to be in a bad condition for several years. This apart, during monsoon season, some of the residents also face rainwater stagnation problem. Except a few nagging issues, colony people seem to be happy residing in the colony for several decades now.