Wah Hyderabad!

Taking the same thought forward, from last time--is Hyderabad ready for the big league of metropolises or is the pretence getting to it? On the one hand, there are islands of relative prosperity like Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills, parts of Madhapur, Begumpet and other areas. We have 'service apartments' in and around Hi-tech City to cater to the inflow of MNC personnel, the hospitality industry says things are looking up like never before, all hotels are notching up high occupancy rates and real estate prices are going through the roof. On the other, a half-hour thundershower is enough to throw the city out of gear, kill a few people and disrupt thousands of lives for a few hours. And, in terms of infrastructure, the city's bursting at the seams--the roads can't take the traffic, new roads and fly-overs are a long way off from nearing completion and as for our City authorities, the MCH ducks for cover, when it is needed the most.

No one spares a thought for large swathes of the city's population living in sprawling slums from Uppal to Rajendranagar and Kukatpally to areas beyond Vanasthalipuram, sans government facilities in terms of civic amenities, not to speak of two of the most critical areas--health and school education. Don't mention government facilities like the Osmania Hospital, Gandhi or Niloufer Hospital, which were known to be the best in town at one time (when we were growing up in the sixties and seventies). Many schools run by the government do not have roofs, boards, desks and benches, leave alone enough teachers.
And yet, we claim Hyderabad is the most happening place. We need to shake ourselves out of this delusional state and get real.