Stalled sewerage work spells misery for colony residents

Residents of Sneha Colony in Secunderabad Cantonment face sewage overflow weekly, risking safety due to delayed road repairs.

Wading through a sea of sewage water has become a routine occurrence for the residents of Sneha Colony in Macha Bolarum area of Secunderabad Cantonment, who have been waiting patiently for the past several months for completion of the work already sanctioned.

An open manhole in the locality, added with a blocked pipeline, fills their cup of woes at least once a week, when two-wheeler riders and pedestrians are put to significant risk due to accumulation of murky water. In the open space behind the manhole is a dump of cement pipes brought there about six months ago, but not laid.

“The contractor brought the pipes and dug up the road for laying them after an emergency situation arose last August due to heavy sewage outflow. Since then, no progress has been made,” said Narsing Rao, a resident of the colony.

The road needs to be dug up from the manhole, and the road cutting permissions are to be obtained from the Roads & Buildings department. Further, permission needs to be obtained from the Traffic Police as the road connects a State highway with the national highway and on the way to the Suchitra Junction. “The gaping manhole is a constant danger for two-wheeler riders and pedestrians, especially school-going children. There have been many instances when people slipped and fell into it. They are not even clearing the debris accumulated by the roadside from previous digging,” Mr. Narsing Rao complained.

“The sewage overflow happens once every week, due to blockage of the existing pipeline, and every time it happens, they bring a machine to clear the block. It has been several months since the road in front of my shop was dug up. They neither lay the pipes nor fill up the trench. It has become a nuisance,” complained A. Ravinder, the owner of Balaji Medical & General Store in the locality.