Hyderabad: Residents of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) are expressing frustration over the board’s new policy to impose a cess of Rs 3 per litre on private borewells even as the deadline for objections end on February 23.The SCB encompasses approximately 2.5 lakh residents across eight wards. Several delegations have visited the board office to oppose the policy and expressed a desire for the area to be merged into the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).Ajay Kumar Yaduvanshi, a resident of Ward 5, highlighted the lack of basic amenities such as sewage systems, with drains often overflowing even during average rainfall. He lamented the infrequent supply of drinking water, occurring only once every four days, compared to municipal areas which receive water on alternate days.Satish Gupta Telukunta, another resident, criticised the state of infrastructure in the cantonment area, citing open drains (nalas) that are poorly maintained and borewells contaminated due to their proximity to these drains. He opposed the central government’s decision to install water metres on private borewells, arguing against the proposed charges for groundwater usage.Manoj Kumar G.S., a resident of Ward 8 in Sadar Bazaar, Bolarum, Secunderabad Cantonment, strongly condemned the proposal for bore wells and the suggested rate of Rs 3 per litre.He said the residents already purchase a 20-litre water bottle for Rs 10, questioning the rationale behind the board’s decision-making process in the absence of an elected body for the past two and a half years.
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