Despite petitions being submitted thrice regarding alleged irregularities in the construction of a side drain, civic officials fail to act
Published Date – 19 February 2025, 07:46 PM
Kothagudem: The weekly grievance cell meeting ‘Prajavani’, which is aimed to address public issues, appears to be turning ineffective in fulfilling its purpose if petitions submitted by residents of Ramavaram in Kothagudem town are any indication.
The residents of the seven-number bazaar in the seventh ward in Kothagudem Municipality have submitted applications thrice in Prajavani over alleged irregularities in the construction of a side drain in the area. But the issue remained unresolved.
A resident, Suresh, told Telangana Today that the area residents submitted a petition during Prajavani on January 3 regarding the problem. Again on January 27, another petition was submitted. Later on February 10, the residents submitted a fresh petition seeking to address the problem.
The petition was forwarded to municipal officials but no action was taken, he said.
Before the submitted petitions, a written complaint was made to the Kothagudem Municipal Commissioner on December 30, 2024 over alleged encroachment of the road by a local trader that hindered the construction of the side drain.
But the engineering and town planning officials supporting the trader have not initiated any action, he complained. He said that the municipality has taken up construction of a side drain on one side of a 50-foot road in the area. The road was dug up three months ago and left as it is as the residents staged protests demanding to clear the encroachment before construction of the side drain.
The encroachment on the road has been obstructing the passage of ambulances or fire engines in case of emergency. When the residents approached the municipal deputy engineer he directed them to approach the town planning officer, who failed to address the issue, Suresh said.
When the petition was submitted for the third time in Prajavani on February 10, Additional Collector D Venugopal admonished the municipal manager and warned of initiating action if the issue was not resolved immediately. But sadly even after one week, no action was taken, he noted.
Accidents have been taking place as the soil dug up for the drain left on the road and the pit was left open. The negligence of officials is defeating the very purpose of Prajavani, lamented Suresh.