#SelfieWithPothole: 'Hyderabad You Deserve' invites city residents to share their road woes
HYD (Hyderabad You Deserve), a community-based engagement and awareness platform, has started a hashtag, #SelfieWithPothole to collaborate with citizens on their issues.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 24 July 2021 4:07 AM GMT
Hyderabad: Monsoon in the city causes many road accidents as potholes and stagnating water in these potholes makes commuter journeys difficult. In the last many years, hundreds of road accidents, many fatalities, significant wear and tear of vehicles, and subsequent health issues have caused a huge burden on everyone. Negligence of authorities, contractors and elected representatives has caused huge distress to young and old alike.
HYD (Hyderabad You Deserve), a community-based engagement and awareness platform, has started a hashtag, #SelfieWithPothole, a contest launched on 22 July, to collaborate with citizens on their issues. It is serious approach to not only have citizens participate but to also have teams working on the ground to identify and address hotspots most affected during monsoons.
"We aim to create a network of common people who raise their concerns on our platform. We invite photos, videos, and testimonials from people through this contest. Soon, we will open entries via email and WhatsApp," said a volunteer at Hyderabad You Deserve.
She said the government is neglecting several civic issues that are inconveniencing people. "HYD gives the common man a platform to talk about their issues so that the administration can hear him/her out. They say, 'If you want change, you need to bring about the change' and this is what we truly believe in. Administration has been working on band-aid solutions till date. We will work on long lasting ones." she added.
In the past, with the support of Marri Channa Reddy Foundation and Marri Adithya Reddy, they came up with a unique contest called 'Potography' that became very popular. The Potography contest was also conceptualized around the pothole issues in the city. It is quite dismaying to see that several years have passed and there has been no change, said another team member of HYD.
Poor drainage systems and better road conditions have always been a focal point during elections. However, there's not much reflection spotted of promises made. Infact, the city faced severe floods in 2020 when around 100 people lost their lives and lakhs were displaced.
"Cleaning and rejuvenation of various tanks and lakes has always been an issue gaining traction on social media. During the 2016 GHMC elections, the TRS promised to clean Hussain Sagar Lake and replace the water with fresh water. However, Hussain Sagar, Masab Tank, and many others are in a deplorable condition," said a senior team member.
If taken a look closely, it can be found that the state government has neglected the GHMC while making budget allocations for 2020-21 and 2021-22 fiscal years as well.
Newsmeter has also been informed that the contest announcement on Social Media has garnered a lot of motion already and a number of netizens were found talking about their concerns to HYD on Twitter and Facebook.
