It Does Not Look Good For Cop Makeover
HYDERABAD: With only four days left for the mega biodiversity meet,
host city Hyderabad is still far from pretty, the multi-crore beauty
treatment notwithstanding. And painting the ugliest picture is the
official venue for CoP-11, Hitex-HICC which is thick with dug-up
stretches, broken road dividers, withering saplings, heaps of felled
branches and a stinking water body. The unfinished parking lot and
helipad, exclusively being re-done for the dignitaries, on Wednesday
appeared more like a construction site sitting in the middle of a swamp.
Most of the previously planted saplings in and around the venue are on their death bed and being hurriedly replaced with marigolds and other seasonal flowers which, however, have so far failed to uplift the look of the venue, instead only adding to the clutter and chaos.
Government-appointed contractors working at the site said that they were confident that they would succeed in fixing every gap in the remaining two-three days to present to the foreign delegates a 'shining' Hyderabad. That they have already missed one deadline (September 25), and in some cases even two (September 20), is another story.
"We will finish everything by Friday. We are working day and night for this," said a contractor standing in front of a half-done stretch of road at Hitex. Considering that on Wednesday afternoon this area had only a thin presence of labourers, this claim seemed not too reassuring.
Even the few deployed at the site seemed in no hurry to wrap up the work before the next deadline, September 29. Although the once sewage-filled lake, located in the middle of HICC, looks cleaner than it did once, an unbearable stench continues to rise from the water body. Its banks were littered with axed remains of trees that had surrounded the lake until a few weeks back. In all, Hitex-HICC seemed far from ready to roll out the red carpet for CoP delegates, many of whom are likely to arrive in the city in the next few days.
The primary roads leading to the official venue were also far from being picture perfect. Road-widening work was still on, the medians on many stretches remained barren and the graffiti on walls far from complete. Low-hanging cables and yet-to-be concealed underground pipelines dot these stretches. The situation on Wednesday was much the same on the road leading from Begumpet to Madhapur, via Banjara and Jubilee Hills, barring some stretches where the roads are looking cleaner with a fresh coat of tar, painted dividers newly-placed plants.
But, otherwise, the authorities continue to struggle with the plants. Having failed twice over to spruce up the look with bougainvilleas, authorities have now gone for marigold and other common species. There are also flower pots dotting parts of the town although many of these remained empty on Wednesday evening.
The ornamental saplings used to decorate some junctions in Jubilee Hills, too, were drooping. Further down in Madhapur, snapped cables were seen lying on roads and the dug-up footpaths. The lack of urgency among authorities was evident from the absence of any activity at the venue on Wednesday.
Officials of the state ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), too, are worried at the pace of work. "The department is saying that it is confident of finishing the work in time. But we predict a delay of at least four-five days. Maybe by the time the main CoP event begins (from October 8), the situation will be better," said an MoEF source. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials could not be reached for a comment. (TOI)
Most of the previously planted saplings in and around the venue are on their death bed and being hurriedly replaced with marigolds and other seasonal flowers which, however, have so far failed to uplift the look of the venue, instead only adding to the clutter and chaos.
Government-appointed contractors working at the site said that they were confident that they would succeed in fixing every gap in the remaining two-three days to present to the foreign delegates a 'shining' Hyderabad. That they have already missed one deadline (September 25), and in some cases even two (September 20), is another story.
"We will finish everything by Friday. We are working day and night for this," said a contractor standing in front of a half-done stretch of road at Hitex. Considering that on Wednesday afternoon this area had only a thin presence of labourers, this claim seemed not too reassuring.
Even the few deployed at the site seemed in no hurry to wrap up the work before the next deadline, September 29. Although the once sewage-filled lake, located in the middle of HICC, looks cleaner than it did once, an unbearable stench continues to rise from the water body. Its banks were littered with axed remains of trees that had surrounded the lake until a few weeks back. In all, Hitex-HICC seemed far from ready to roll out the red carpet for CoP delegates, many of whom are likely to arrive in the city in the next few days.
The primary roads leading to the official venue were also far from being picture perfect. Road-widening work was still on, the medians on many stretches remained barren and the graffiti on walls far from complete. Low-hanging cables and yet-to-be concealed underground pipelines dot these stretches. The situation on Wednesday was much the same on the road leading from Begumpet to Madhapur, via Banjara and Jubilee Hills, barring some stretches where the roads are looking cleaner with a fresh coat of tar, painted dividers newly-placed plants.
But, otherwise, the authorities continue to struggle with the plants. Having failed twice over to spruce up the look with bougainvilleas, authorities have now gone for marigold and other common species. There are also flower pots dotting parts of the town although many of these remained empty on Wednesday evening.
The ornamental saplings used to decorate some junctions in Jubilee Hills, too, were drooping. Further down in Madhapur, snapped cables were seen lying on roads and the dug-up footpaths. The lack of urgency among authorities was evident from the absence of any activity at the venue on Wednesday.
Officials of the state ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), too, are worried at the pace of work. "The department is saying that it is confident of finishing the work in time. But we predict a delay of at least four-five days. Maybe by the time the main CoP event begins (from October 8), the situation will be better," said an MoEF source. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials could not be reached for a comment. (TOI)