What Hyderabad needs...!!!???

Over the last few days we have seen many news papers pouring in, the reports about the sanction of the metro rail in Hyderabad. This is being projected as a savior for all the traffic vows. After all it was much awaited, moreover, it is not just like any other cheap mode of transport but one of the most costliest projects ever to come up with the biggest ever private-public-partnership in India costing Rs.8,600 cr (which is expected to rise steeply with the rise in the steel and cement prices in the coming days). But who cares how much it costs and what kind of services they offer and how accessible can these services be, to a common man…. Who cares….!!!????

Well…but we do care, don’t we…!!!???

We do care about where and how all our money is being spent. But why have we, the general public, who are to use these facilities not been included in the debate? If we are not to decide, who else will decide? The bureaucracy? Or the CORPORATES!!!??? who mint money with these kind of projects, by levying the common man heavily with user charges, maintenance charges and what not.

And this is what has happened exactly with the Metro rail project. The first phase of which is expected to serve the state in another 4 years. Many professors and experienced researchers have been voicing their concerns about Metro rail bringing out studies in various forms and trying to convince our government about how useless & a wastage of money this project can be to the state of AP. But again… who cares…!!!???

The day the concept of Metro rail was conceived, the government shelved the Phase II and Phase III of the MMTS, the completion of which would have covered all the routes that the Metro is expected to cover. That too in just another Rs.300-400 cr. against the Rs8, 600 cr. plus that the Metro demands. It is also learnt from the Delhi Metro experience, that there would be no pass facility available for the regular metro travelers and the noise pollution that is created with the movement of the train is simply too high since the coaches are all AC.
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What can we as common man do about it? What can we, as IT employees do about it to make our voices reach the government?
Another signature campaign? Signing up another online petition? Joining the voices that are already inching ahead? What is it…????