The Hyderabad police on Thursday filed a case against officials of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) on a complaint by a citizen, who was injured after falling in a pothole on the road.
Journalist Syed Azmath Hussain Jaffery lodged a complaint at Dabeerpura police station in the old city. On his complaint, police registered a case against GHMC officials under Section 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The complainant stated in his petition that he was injured after falling in a pothole on the night of October 6 in Noor Khan Bazar area, and his right ankle was fractured in the incident. He alleged that the negligence by GHMC authorities endangered the lives of the citizens.
Speaking to TNM, Jaffery said, "The GHMC is responsible because they have endangered the lives of citizens with their negligence. The state government had earlier said that they had identified 4,000 potholes and sanctioned around Rs 50 crore for repair works. We don't know where that money went and which potholes they have filled."
The incident highlighted the bad condition of the roads in the city. Jaffery received online support from citizens for taking the bold step of lodging a complaint against the municipal authorities.
Incessant rains have badly damaged roads in several parts of Greater Hyderabad and the GHMC is under flak for not carrying out the repairs.
Besides potholes in several arterial stretches, the road laid on flyovers have also been heavily damaged. Loose stones are another major cause of concern as there have been incidents of motorists skidding due to this and getting injured.
In August, after rains lashed the city, the GHMC said that it had identified 987 patches of road that washed away along with 4,000 potholes.
Allocating Rs 50 crore for repair works, then GHMC Commissioner M Dana Kishore had said, "Apart from filling potholes, the repair work will be taken up on damaged roads of various routes on war-footing basis."
The municipal body added that 600 km of road that was laid in the city recently, was taken up by contractors on a Pre-Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) basis.
IANS inputs