A 56-year-old mango grove, spread over a 5-acre site, appears to be an eye candy at the entrance of Vinayaka Nagar VUDA Colony. However, a closer look at the green zone paints a neglected picture.
For varied reasons, the colony residents are against the GVMC’s proposal of creating a new hawkers’ zone on the 130-ft. road.
“The road is the heart of the colony, which is supposed to be developed further. Unfortunately, the authorities are having new plans of creating a hawkers’ zone, much against our wish. Since the road passes through Kanithi junction and Gandhi Nagar Phase II junction, the residential culture should not be disrupted,” says K. Satyam Babu, chairman of Joint Action Committee of Phase I, II and III, and added that owing to the stay order from the High Court, the proposal is put on hold.
Wine shop near templeAs part of the long-pending works, a couple of parks, a cluster of community services behind the temple complex, construction of sports complex on the premises of stadium grounds, and a building for ‘kalyana mandapam’ or auditorium are yet to take shape.
Further, the colony residents lament that a wine shop opposite Sai Baba temple is causing a lot of inconvenience. In the evenings, the place turns into a mini-bar, where men meet and make merry on the road, they say.
Most people in the colony complain about poor garbage and drainage maintenance, where every open area literally turns into a slushy zone for pigs.
According to honorary president of Vinayaka Nagar House Owners’ Welfare Association Goli Sankara Rao, if the vacant sites can be converted into parks, the locality will don a new look.
“If the empty sites are converted into green belts as per the layout plan, life in the colony will be much beautiful. Also, we hope that the proposed cluster of community services will include a library so that children can spend their free time productively,” he added.
