A 15-km drive from the city towards the Simhachalam hill leads to Simhapuri Layout.
Nestled amidst Adavivaram and Vepagunta, this neighbourhood appears to be an ideal place for those who wish to live in a quiet corner of the city and start the day at their own pace.
Formed in 1986, the layout that comprises 190-plus plots has been segmented into three categories — LIG, MIG, and HIG.
Every house has a garden. Since there is not much traffic in the area, children play games in the lanes after school hours.
The neighbourhood, which was once hardly occupied, now houses hundreds of families. Employees of NSTL, VPT, Railways, LIC, and a number of public sector undertakings have made the locality their home.
“We shifted to this place when we were working in different companies, but now it has become a home to spend our retired life here,” says K. Jagga Rao, a resident.
Apparently, what keeps the retired group constructively occupied is a number of activities of the Simhapuri Layout Welfare Association.
The community hall turns into a beehive of activity during special occasions like Republic Day, Independence Day, Vinayaka Chavithi, and Dasara.
Problems persist
Despite a monitoring system in place, certain issues such as irregular collection of garbage, stray dogs, and blocked drains continue to trouble the residents.
“We have been able to do whatever possible within our ambit. For instance, when trees were uprooted during cyclone Hudhud and the whole locality turned into a mess, we teamed up to clear the lanes by pooling in own funds. We had taken up a massive plantation drive to restore the lost green cover. However, the civic body’s intervention is required to sort out certain issues like irregular garbage collection and cleaning clogged drains,” says V. Purushottama Rao, president of the association.
Residents say that garbage remains uncollected for four days.
There are two parks in the layout. One has a community hall and the other a water tank surrounded by bushes.
The drain at an intersection point between Simhapuri Layout and Simhapuri Colony (adjacent neighbourhood) gets stagnated.
“The stagnation happens because the sewer line has not been properly channelled. Though the GVMC has come forward to convert bad roads that stretch up to 2 km in Simhapuri Layout into black-top roads, the stagnated drain water remains a cause for concern,” says R.S. Prakasa Rao, a retired port employee and vice-president of the association.
Zone Commissioner: N. Sivaji and Zone VI Call Centre: 2735353.
