Ramzan is the time when the Old City pulsates with life through the night and day. It is as if all the roads lead to Charminar and its inner lanes. But this year, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has thrown a spanner in the works, by leaving a sewerage line work pending before the Laad Bazaar area.
On Tuesday, workers were seen spraying water on the square utility holes for curing them. The civic work at the road turning that leads to the tourist attraction of Chowmahalla Palace is also a source of conflict as many visitors to the Charminar park their two-wheelers and walk into the pedestrian area of Laad Bazaar. “By evening, the road is completely blocked as it has become narrow in this 100-metre stretch and people rush towards home for Iftaar and namaz ,” says Muhammad Arshad, a shop owner.
“It has been three months since the work began. Water used to stagnate here during monsoon. Civic officials promise us that the pipeline will drain the water and the issue will be solved. But we are facing this new problem,” said Mr. Arshad, pointing to heaps of rubble on the road. A GHMC official under whose supervision the work is being carried out said, “We will complete the work by tonight. We just need to slide in the utility hole covers and clear the rubble.”
The carriageway is further narrowed as several temporary clothes, shoes and snack shops have cropped up on either side of the Khilwat Road. “If earlier it took two minutes to cross this stretch, it is now taking us 15 or 20 minutes,” says Muhammad Ahmed, who lives in the area.
