Hyderabad: An elderly couple in Telangana's capital city has been filling potholes for the past 11 years with their own pension money. They decided to take matters into their own hands when they saw their complaints raised with concerned authorities not yielding any results.
According to the couple, they have filled over 2,000 potholes across the city.
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At the age of 73, Hyderabad-based Gangadhar Tilak Katnam is being popularly hailed as the "Road Doctor". He, along with his wife, 64-year-old Venkateshwari Katnam set out on to roads in a car which they have named their "Pothole Ambulance" and fill up potholes where ever they find one.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Gangadhar Tilak Katnam said, "After witnessing several accidents on the roads because of potholes I decided to do something about the issue and to find a solution to it."
"Initially, I tried to complain about the issue with the police and the Municipality officials but none of it was of any use. That is when I have decided to fill these potholes by myself," he added.
Tilak previously worked as an employee with the India Railways for nearly about 35 years. He came to Hyderabad after retirement to work as a software design engineer in a software company.
The former railway employee has been filling up potholes across the city ever since. In his pursuit to resolve the issue, he even quit his job as a software design engineer within a year to completely dedicate himself to filling the potholes of the city.
When asked about the finances, Gangadhar said, "I am managing the finances of this initiative from the pension that I receive. All the material that is required for the task is bought using money from my pension. For the last 11 years, I was able to fill nearly about 2,030 potholes in and across the city and spent about Rs. 40 lakh on it".
His work has been noticed by the government officials who have also stepped forward to help him by providing him with the required material.
Gangadhar revealed that he runs an organisation called 'Sramadhan' with an aim to extend his work. "I would never ask anyone for funds/donations. People would step-in voluntarily step to help in filling the potholes," he said.
The "Road Doctor" believes that the increasing population is a burden till everyone steps out to help: "Many problems can be solved very easily if everyone starts helping the other".
"Road by road, we make a difference," he concluded.