Residents of a containment zone in Hyderabad's old Malakpet area gathered at the barricades set up by authorities on Monday and staged a protest, alleging that they were running short of essentials.
The locals alleged that despite promises made by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), they were not being given enough groceries and medicines. They also asked officials to lift the barricades briefly so that they could purchase some essentials.
Malakpet MLA Ahmed Balala from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) reached the spot and picked up an argument with GHMC officials.
"No facility is being given. I am providing everything. Call the residents and ask if you want. You have made the area a zoo. Just to show VIPs. Why did you shut 750 houses?" he is seen saying in a video, even as a GHMC official insists that they are providing the locals with essentials.
AIMIM MLA Ahmed Balala fires on GHMC zonal commissioner and said the government isn't providing any facilities to those people who are living in containment zone. @aimim_national pic.twitter.com/cBTtXV2vOK
— Naseer Giyas (@NaseerGiyas) April 27, 2020
The GHMC said that the incident was later resolved after residents were assured that essentials would reach each household in the containment zone.
The incident took place just a day after a five-member inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) visited containment zones in Malakpet and Mettuguda.
On its third day of inspection on Monday, the central team led by Arun Baroka, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti, went around the containment zone in Humayun Nagar area to get first hand information about the steps taken by authorities to contain the virus in the area which reported few positive cases.
The five-member team also interacted with the people in the containment zone and enquired about their problems.
The team has already held a meeting with Director General of Police M. Mahender Reddy and Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar on the steps taken by the state government to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Chandrashekhar Gedam, Senior Public Health Specialist, Hemlatha, Director, National Institute of Nutrition, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, SS Thakur, Director, Ministry of Consumers Affairs and Shekhar Chaturvedi, Associate Professor, National Institute of Disaster Management are the members of the team.
It is one of the IMCTs constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs to visit Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Surat, Chennai and Thane, the major hotspots where the pandemic situation is described as serious.
IANS inputs
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