Toli Chowki: Sewers spill, traders fume

CHARMINAR: Shopkeepers, commuters and function hall owners in the Toli Chowki area raised their voice against overflowing sewers in the area on Monday. People rued how the continuous flow of sewerage on the busy road - going towards Mehdipatnam - has come haunt both motorists and passers-by.

That the authorities were doing precious little to address the issue, only further added to their anger.
"For the last one week there has been excessive overflowing of sewerage. While the officials hurriedly closed one manhole, after we complained about it, it failed to bring us any respite. Soon another one broke and the problem came back to haunt us. There is dirty water flowing everywhere. It is posing a serious problem to our customers who cannot park their vehicles near our showroom because of the accumulation of work there,'' complained Md Imran, branch manager of a Yamaha showroom there.

Such concerns are aplenty among



those doing business along the road.

Apart from battling the problem of commuting, they rued how they are also being forced to put up with the foul smell. "This civic problem has been persisting for one week now. Something has to be done on war-footing to address this sewerage issue that can left us breathless, literally," said another shopkeeper, Ahmed. Apart from daily traders, even those operating function halls in and around the area (it is densely populated with such facilities) are faced with a hard time.

So strong is the stench that that they confess of living in constant fear of losing out on their customers. "We are losing out on business every single day. The stagnant water coupled with the stink that it rises has been pushing away people from opting for our space. Apart from being unhygienic it also adds to the parking woes of visitors," said the manager of a function hall on condition of anonymity.