Congress Tells KTR to Focus on Work, Stop Publicity Stunts

Hyderabad, May 18: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Treasurer Gudur Narayana Reddy demanded that the State Government immediately announce the Monsoon Action Plan for Greater Hyderabad and take measures to prevent the city from further deterioration.

Narayana Reddy, in a media statement on Monday, said that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) was yet to draft the Monsoon Action Plan although the next monsoon is expected to hit Telangana in the next three weeks. He said neither storm water drains were cleaned nor lakhs of tonnes of garbage has been lifted from the city. “The recent sudden rains in Hyderabad have already exposed the unpreparedness of the GHMC as many areas and roads got inundated after a short spell of drizzle. TRS Government has been playing the same track for the last six years that the storm water drains in Hyderabad were 70 years old and need to be replaced. However, it did nothing to either replace them or at least repair them at an appropriate time, i.e., before the onset of monsoon,” he said.

The Congress leader asked whether the announcement made by the State Government of spending Rs. 10,000 Crore on Hyderabad during the financial year 2020-21 still stands valid or has it been withdrawn in view of changed circumstances due to Coronavirus. He alleged that the State Government has no clarity on its priorities and plans. Further, he said TRS Government has no accountability. It simply makes fake promises and later makes false claims that all those promises have been fulfilled. He reminded that after winning the GHMC elections, Municipal Administration & Urban Development Minister K. Tarakarama Rao, on February 18, 2016, had announced 100 Days Action Plan for Greater Hyderabad. Not even 1% of the promises made in the 100 Days Action Plan were fulfilled even after 1550 days today. Instead of giving the status report on 100 Days Action Plan, Minister KTR started another publicity stunt ’10 AM, 10 Minutes’, he alleged.

Narayana Reddy alleged that ’10 AM, 10 Minutes’ was a cheap publicity stunt KTR borrowed from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. “While it is good to create awareness among people to keep their surroundings clean, those in power must ensure that they keep the entire city clean which is not possible in just 10 minutes in a week. Hyderabad has witnessed a rise in cases of Malaria, Dengue and other vector-borne diseases in the last three-four years. Therefore, the State Government should ensure that cleanliness is maintained in each and every lane and by-lane of Hyderabad. Anti-larval and fogging operations should be conducting in all the vulnerable areas and all lakes and other sources where rain water could accumulate should be cleaned on priority basis,” he said.

The Congress leader advised Minister KTR to come out of his illusionary world of ‘All Is Well’ and face the reality that Hyderabad has turned from bad to worse ever since TRS came to power in 2014. He said while the combat against Coronavirus was still on, the State Government should not neglect other issues like taking precautions to prevent the spread of other seasonal diseases.

“Follow WHO guidelines on spraying disinfectants”

Narayana Reddy said that the World Health Organization (WHO) last week has warned that spraying disinfectant on the streets, as practised in some countries, does not eliminate the novel Coronavirus and even poses a health risk. He said a WHO, in a document on cleaning and disinfecting surfaces as part of the response to the virus, has said that spraying could be ineffective. “Spraying or fumigation of outdoor spaces, such as streets or marketplaces, is not recommended to kill the COVID-19 virus or other pathogens because disinfectant is inactivated by dirt and debris,” explained the WHO.

He said as per WHO report, spraying chlorine or other toxic chemicals on people could cause eye and skin irritation, bronchospasm and gastrointestinal effects. Therefore, he advised the government agencies, NGOs, political leaders and others to go through the WHO guidelines before conducting any spraying operations. (Ends)