Nala works open up can of worms at Deendayal Nagar
In a strange case of development works turning nightmare to the residents, a colony that was devoid of mosquito menace is now full of mosquitoes, thanks to the lethargy of civic officials.
A nala which is under construction as part of the Strategic Nala Development Programme (SNDP) in the city is leading to dengue cases in Deendayal Nagar area of Neredmet. According to several residents, Deendayal Nagar did not have a serious mosquito problem prior to the SNDP works taken up on a three-kilometre nala that runs from Sainikpuri to Banda Cheruvu.
The mosquito population increased ever since the work began, as water began stagnating in some stretches of the nala where digging has taken place. The dug-up areas became mosquito breeding pools. “The SNDP works began six months ago. The GHMC dug a fivefoot trench covering the entire road. We cannot even enter our houses. Instead we have to jump over our neighbour’s compound wall to enter our own house. When I complained to our corporator, she did not respond,” Mohan, a resident, said.
The mosquito menace reached such a proportion that more than 50 residents of Deendayal Nagar have fallen prey to dengue fever in the past few months. Some of them, according to the residents, had to be admitted in ICUs at hospitals before recovering from the mosquito borne disease. The worst stagnation of water is just behind the Santoshi Matha temple in the area.
“I got bitten by these mosquitoes and was diagnosed with dengue. I was in the ICU at Yashoda Hospital for 14 days. I was discharged this morning. It gets really bad during evenings and nights when the mosquitoes from the nala enter our houses even if we keep the doors and windows closed,” Usha Somanathan, a resident of Deendayal Nagar said on Monday. “When I fell ill, it was very difficult for the ambulance to reach my house because of incomplete nala works,” she said.
Another resident D. Padma said they were not able to sleep during the night. “The fear of being bitten by these mosquitoes is horrible. I have shifted my children to a relative’s house away from here fearing they might catch dengue fever,” she said.
“There are two wards in Deendayal Nagar with two corporators. The corporators blame each other for the conditions. And they never turn up here despite several requests, P. Mohan, another resident, said. “For now, the work has stopped because the GHMC needs first to tackle encroachments around the Santoshi Matha temple, which means the problem will continue,” he said.
The mere drones made by mosquitoes too assumed menacing proportions for some. “I am unable to bear the buzzing sound made by thousands of mosquitoes. It is like living in hell,” P. Satyanarayana, a Central government employee said.