The Hindu : Corporator faces public ire during Mayor's visit

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 02, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad

Corporator faces public ire during Mayor's visit

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD Feb. 1. It turned out to be a bitter experience for the Tadbun MIM corporator, Abdul Kareem, when the Mayor, T. Krishna Reddy, chose to visit his division on Saturday.

Public resentment against the corporator found an expression as the Mayor went around the area. There were complaints galore about the indifference of Mr. Kareem, particularly with regard to the open nala that ran through the Macca Colony.

Mr. Kareem tried to defend himself by saying that he worked for 18 hours a day and was always available. There was exchange of heated words and at one stage the Mayor had to intervene to separate the warring groups.

The Mayor's visit brought out a large number of people on to the streets. A group led by one Mohsin, wanted Mr. Reddy to visit the Dargah Do Bahad Shah Vali where land grabbing was taking place. This was strongly objected to by Mr. Kareem who said he alone could decide where the Mayor should go. This led to another round of arguments. Ultimately the group opposed to the Corporator managed to take the Mayor to the dargah amid slogans of `Telugu Desam Zindabad'.

Locals accused the corporator of not doing anything to protect the dargah land although he stayed close to it. Much to the discomfiture of the corporator, the Mayor also visited the house of the local leader Mohsin. Even as the confusion was on, Rafiya Khanam, the corporator of Chandulal Bara Dari, an adjacent division picked up an argument with the Mayor for not informing her office with it.

The lanes and by-lanes of Tadbun presented a shabby sight with heaps of garbage, caved in roads, and open manholes at every corner. Locals wanted the Mayor to have a mesh erected along the nala as it posed a threat to children. Recently an elderly woman had fallen into a manhole and broke her foot, it was told.

Mr. Kareem informed that a sum of Rs. 2.8 crores had been sanctioned for laying a slab and cleaning the nala. But work was yet to start. When he started giving an account of the money spent by him from his Rs. 30-lakh budget, some residents pointed out that nothing concrete was done. "We don't know where the money was spent," remarked a resident, Sikander.

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