Parties have turned Wi-Fi as leitmotif of their manifestoes for the coming elections to GHMC pushing serious urban issues to the background

Is Wi-Fi a solution for all the daily woes faced by the citizens of Hyderabad like traffic jams on almost every arterial road, phenomenal rise in vehicular pollution forcing people to wear masks, severe drinking water scarcity, choked drains and piling garbage?

No sensible citizen would vouch for it, but the way political parties beginning with TRS have turned Wi-Fi as leitmotif of their manifestoes for the coming elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), it creates the impression of being one-size-fits-all solution. While it is nobody’s case to underestimate Wi-Fi’s role in a growing city, the question is, should political parties flaunt and promote it so aggressively? Does it not amount to taking people for a ride pushing other serious urban issues to the background?

Take the case of traffic jams. Nothing reflects the situation on roads than the official acknowledgement of the average speed in city being 16 km per hour. It was a very conservative pre-metro rail estimate, but if a fresh survey is done now, it is bound to plummet further with Metro works picking up pace and pillars almost nearing completion knocking away much of the carriage way on many arterial roads. No manifesto, either of the ruling TRS or opposition Congress, TDP-BJP combine or MIM, talks about ways of overcoming this problem, every day grind that a citizen has to go through.

Yes, TRS makes a mention about its pet Strategic Road Development Plan, skyways and 42 km-long road along the Musi river bank, but they are all too futuristic, long term in nature with no deadline. Which means people will have to suffer for several years more. No political party talks about simple solutions such as restoring and expanding the carriageway of the existing roads and the footpaths by removing encroachments.

There are two reasons for it. First, there is not much of money in such restorative work and most of the encroachments are patronised by these very parties. If it is MIM on Charminar- Madina stretch, it is BJP on Kothi- Kachiguda stretch and Congress and now TRS in other areas. They are simply oblivious to the sufferings of the people, though the elected GHMC’s precise mandate is to address such issues and not transgress into areas where it has no role at all.

TRS has been blaming the Congress and TDP for the mess forgetting that it has not come up with any innovative plan to restore road and pedestrian space during the last 19 months. Far from it, the TRS took to the beaten track traversed by the Congress and TDP and opted the easiest way of regularisation of authorised structures adding to the existing chaos unwittingly raising the density of population in a given area further putting pressure on the nearly-saturated infrastructure.

If the new government too presents itself as compromising dispensation, how can it infuse confidence among people that it means business and is capable of taking tough decisions when situation warrants. For instance, vehicular pollution. It has been rising like nobody’s business and unless tough measures are taken, Hyderabad may soon turn into another Delhi. One has to only look at the alarming pollution levels at Punjagutta and other crossroads, the way the GHMC’s run down garbage carrying vehicles or the condemned RTC buses or the kerosene-run auto-rickshaws ply on roads with contempt, to understand the gravity of the situation. But it is not a big issue for political parties. And what will happen if the government is forced to introduce odd and even scheme when it appears to be compromising on every count?

Ditto with drinking water and the problem of choked drains. Notwithstanding the Krishna third phase and the Godavari first stage, drinking water just trickles in most places, for just about two hours on alternate days. But for the talk of extending the supply to newer colonies, there is no mention of ensuring adequate supply on a daily basis.

The less said the better of drainage system. Choking and flow of waste water from manhole covers is a familiar sight on many roads. Seen along the garbage piles on roadsides, the ever shrinking greenery and the open spaces, the talk of transforming Hyderabad into a world class city looks perfunctory.

No four-century-old city like Hyderabad can project itself in a wholesome manner without showcasing its long history by conserving at least few of its remaining quaint palaces and public buildings, the legacy of the Nizams. Protecting them is well within the ambit of the GHMC.

It is a different matter that GHMC’s own building in Darulshifa where most of the general body meetings used to take place, now lies in shambles.

Yet barring the Congress which makes a passing mention, no other political party has thought it fit to include conservation of some heritage buildings in their manifestoes. It goes on to show their allergy to historical structures even while talking big of 400-year old history of the city. Double talk at its best, but they want to rule the city.