Security tops the chart of concerns in 2009 with most Hyderabadis hoping that the New Year would be more peaceful than the one they drunkenly bid goodbye to last night. With denizens passing through metal detectors everywhere except their apartments, a better security apparatus to insulate them from terror strikes is on their wish list. Better traffic on city roads and “cultural maturity’’ in the city of Nizams is what residents of Hyderabad are hoping for this year.
Still shaken after the Mumbai terror strike in November, Hyderabadis say that there should be improved patrolling on the city roads. Narendra Sharma, who had moved the court against roadshows, believes that security and traffic are two crucial zones that the government needs to look into. But some citizens pertinently point out that improved civic sense and social responsibility would only strengthen the existing security measures of the police.
Sense and Sensibility
“Traffic needs to be more controlled and there should be more police patrolling and security on the roads. There are times when people attack you and a police patrol would help,’’ says B V Satya Nagesh, a hypnotist and a behavioural counsellor, who draws a parallel between 108 and 100 and describes the former as the model for any emergency helpline. “There should be a police service like that,’’ he says.
Initiatives such as setting up an NSG hub in the city are welcome and encouraging for terror wary citizens, points out senior ERP consultant Leena Sil but she, however, feels that traffic woes score over terror in Hyderabad.
“Look at the roads, particularly the once smooth stretch from Banjara Hills to Hi Tech city and for the perennially bad ones such as those in Ameerpet. Their condition deteriorates with each passing year and I hope 2009 is different,’’ Sil says.
The police, on its part, states that traffic woes cannot be combated by the police alone and citizens should take an active part in it. After all, it is for “citizens to take care not to drink and drive and not violate any traffic rules’’, says N Surendra Babu, additional commissioner of police (traffic), who too puts terror and traffic as the main areas of focus for the city police this year.
In congruence with Surendra Babus statement, Jaideep Chowdhary, a young professional says that while security is on top of everyone’s mind, citizens need to develop a higher degree of civic sense. “The way we drive or litter around has to change. We need to look into how loudly we listen to music and burst crackers. We will be a much happier society to live in (if we develop this sound civic sense),’’ Chowdhary says.
Hoping for change
And it is not just a ‘metropolitan’ civic sense that denizens are looking forward to but even a culturally matured city that metros metamorphose into with time. Sil points out that the state’s obsession with engineering and medicine continues even as other cities have woken up to other career streams such as humanities, advertising, media, fashion designing among others. But Hyderabad continues to churn out engineers by the dozen. “In cities such as Pune, Chennai people study arts and literature and economics and are open to exploring other opportunities but Hyderabad has a long way to go,’’ says Chowdhary, who works in the field of education.
Moreover, while the state’s focus on higher education is reflected in the form of seven new central universities coming up, those in the field of education call it a half baked measure given the poor condition of government schools. “There are insufficient teachers, poor infrastructure and a high drop out among girls and many schools are closing down. But the state is not taking any steps to improve their condition,’’ says M Sanyukta, state secretary, United Teachers Federation.
That even the new universities coming up also lack infrastructure is yet another issue that reeks of political indifference to education. “Lots of money has been granted but it hasn’t trickled down. These universities lack infrastructure,’’ says an educationist.
While the city scores in its five-star health facilities, citizens say that while the services are fine they are way too expensive. The poor condition of government hospitals leaves one with no choice but to opt for the cost-intensive private medical care. “We have all the specialities, specialised clinics and qualified doctors but private healthcare is very costly for a common man,’’ says Satya Nagesh. Would 2009 change any of that?
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