Hyderabad: Congress leader Mohammed Waliullah Sameer on Sunday said Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had brought the Old City into Hyderabad’s development mainstream by prioritising infrastructure, healthcare, housing and connectivity projects. His remarks came as the Congress government marked 1,000 days in office.
Sameer, Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency in-charge and former Hyderabad DCC president, said the government was treating the Old City as an integral part of Hyderabad’s future growth. He cited the Chanchalguda-Santoshnagar flyover, Old City Metro, new Osmania General Hospital, Indiramma housing, Mir Alam Tank development and Musi rejuvenation programme.
Sameer highlighted the recently inaugurated 3.2-km four-lane Chanchalguda-Santoshnagar steel flyover. He said the project, built at a cost of about ₹620 crore, represented the completion of a long-pending infrastructure work.
He described the Old City Metro as a key connectivity project. According to him, work on the MGBS-Chandrayangutta corridor has progressed through property acquisition, road widening and other preparatory activities.
Sameer said the Chief Minister had promised to provide Metro connectivity to the Old City before the next Assembly elections. He said the project would connect residents with employment centres, colleges, hospitals and business districts across Hyderabad.
The Congress leader also referred to the new 2,000-bed Osmania General Hospital being developed at Goshamahal. He said the existing OGH building along the Musi was proposed for conservation as a heritage structure.
Housing was another focus highlighted by Sameer. He said one lakh Indiramma houses had been proposed for the Hyderabad Core Urban Region, including high-rise housing in constituencies such as Chandrayangutta and Goshamahal.
According to Sameer, housing within the city would help poorer families remain closer to workplaces, schools and healthcare facilities. He also cited the proposed three-km cable-stayed bridge across Mir Alam Tank and plans to develop the surrounding area as a tourism and recreational destination.
Musi project and welfare schemes
Sameer said the Musi rejuvenation programme would also affect the Old City. He said the first phase, involving an outlay of more than ₹7,000 crore, envisaged sewage management, flood mitigation, environmental restoration and development of public spaces.
He also cited welfare schemes implemented during the Congress government’s first 1,000 days. According to him, women had made more than 335 crore zero-fare journeys under the Mahalakshmi scheme, while more than 50 lakh families were benefiting from Gruha Jyothi’s free electricity provision of up to 200 units.
Sameer said nearly 43 lakh families were covered by the ₹500 LPG cylinder scheme. He also cited the issuance of more than 15 lakh new ration cards, distribution of fine rice through the public distribution system and an increase in Rajiv Aarogyasri health coverage to ₹10 lakh.
“These schemes directly affect the family budget. Free bus travel, electricity, subsidised cooking gas, food security and healthcare leave more money in the hands of ordinary families,” Sameer said.
He said education and employment would be the next focus areas for Old City development. Sameer said the Chief Minister had announced additional funds for college development and spoken about employment opportunities for economically weaker Muslim families.
He also cited the government’s stated commitment to protecting the existing four per cent reservation for socially and educationally backward Muslims.
Sameer said the Old City required coordinated improvements in transport, housing, healthcare, education, employment and business connectivity. He also claimed that political and administrative attention to the area had increased compared with the previous BRS government.
The Congress leader said the Chief Minister had made repeated visits to the Old City to inaugurate projects, lay foundation stones and review development works. He said the next priority should be timely completion of ongoing and proposed projects.
“The Old City is the original Hyderabad. Revanth Reddy has brought it into Hyderabad’s development mainstream, and the objective now is to ensure that its people get the same quality of transport, healthcare, housing, education and infrastructure available in every other part of the city,” he said.