Hyderabad: Fourteen acres of private land located in the heart of the Somajiguda-Begumpet area has been overrun by snakes, stray animals and has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. This mini forest in the middle of an urban habitat is owned by one Dhananjay Naik, who lives in the United States.
For the last 10 years, the land has become a dumping ground and the stagnant water from broken drain pipes makes it a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Housing colonies located with two kilometres of the open land are affected, including the Chief Minister's camp office and IAS-IPS quarters.
The GHMC claims it can do nothing because the owners do not allow its personnel entry; a watchman is in charge. The colonies affected are Umanagar, Methodist, and Kundanbagh, and on the other side, MS Maktha and Somajiguda.
The house staff of Assembly Speaker S. Madhusudhana Chary and Telangana state chief adviser Rajiv Sharma have complained about mosquito menace as they live in the vicinity, but the GHMC insists it is helpless in the matter.
GHMC chief entomologist V. Venkatesh, said, "One fears getting lost in the 14 acres. It is home to snakes, peacocks, birds. There are two broken drains running through the property from which water seeps out and stagnates. This becomes a source for mosquito breeding. During the day, the mosquitoes settle in the bushes and towards evening spread out over a two kilometre radius. The staff has attended to a majority of the hotspots except for this. We have warned the watchman to clean the land or allow the GHMC to do so. But he waits for direction from the owner." Mr Venkatesh says he has asked the GHMC town planning department to impose vacant land tax and fine the owner for zero maintenance.
