Green and heavy with sludge, an open drain meanders along Hyderabad’s HafIz Baba Nagar Block 2 with houses flanked on either side.
34-year-old Abdul is one among many residents who have been living beside this open drain for the past three months.
“Every time, I go out for work, I have to carefully cross this nala right beside the house. This has become a headache for several people living here,” he says.
Authorities, Abdul recalls, removed the slab covering the drain three months ago on the promise of cleaning it. But once the drain was opened, no effort went in to completing the work.
Residents are also forced to deal with the stench of the open drain that has sewage mixed in it.
But it’s the fear of falling in that has residents like Abdul most worried as the open drain poses a hazard for everyone who uses the road.
“The children now use an alternate road to go to school. Parents are scared somebody might fall into that drain,” he says.
In February, a two-year-old boy died in Rein Bazaar area in the Old City after falling into an open drain. Zakir Abbas’ body was found following an hour-long search. The drain that the boy fell into was in the middle of the street.
“It’s the same case here, where the drain is in the middle of the road. Following the Rein Bazaar incident, People are even more scared now. We have asked GHMC workers to at least put a fence near that drain but nothing has been done yet,” he says.
Syed Umar, another resident, moved out of Hafiz Baba Nagar, unable to deal with the problem.
“Sometimes the sewage water reaches the entrance of the house. We have been complaining about this but the work will begin and then end abruptly. I know of more than seven families, who have shifted out and gone to reside with their relatives because of this,” he says.
He also points out that the water often flows out from the manhole as it is broken, filling the area with a foul stench. Syed says that the open drain is a also a health hazard as it has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
“We are unable to open our windows because there are just so many mosquitoes. We now have to worry about our health as well,” he complains.
The News Minute reached out to GHMC zonal commissioner and GHMC’s executive engineer several times during the day, but they were not available for comment.