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HomeOpinionHyderabad is India's ‘most liveable city’ but it's deprived of the title

Hyderabad is India’s ‘most liveable city’ but it’s deprived of the title

Hyderabad isn't just about Charminar or biryani. The city is a perfect blend of traditional and modern, and boasts of top education and civic infrastructure.

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If there’s any city in India with the charm and vibrancy of Venice, Istanbul, St. Petersburg or Delhi, it’s undoubtedly Hyderabad. A perfect blend of the past and present, old and new, traditional and modern. Centuries-old minarets, domes, edifices and towering high-rises fill the skyscape, side-by-side. The world’s finest palaces Falaknuma and Chowmahalla, the impregnable architectural wonder, 450-year-old Golconda Fort with its boundary wall spreading over 5 km share space with Asia’s longest flyover-expressway and a state-of-the-art airport rated top of the rung.

While you can get traditional meetha paan or naan ki rotihaleem and sheekh kabab, dosa or Irani chai by the roadside, you get steaming cannelloni and sushi, delicious baklava and gourmet caviar in multiple fine-dines with liveried service in five- and seven-star rated hotels. Its roads are dotted as much with gleaming Phantoms and Maybachs as much as easily available cabs and autos. Kiosks and malls stocking attars and colognes, bidri ware and kalamkari, lac bangles and haute couture fashion wear vie for attention. 

For a city to be ‘liveable’, it ought to have a few basic attributes in place, which, over a period of time – in this case a few centuries – are elements that make it a preferred destination for natives, travellers, businesspersons and investors from all around the world. Geographical location, temperate climate, ease of commuting, cosmopolitan culture, warmth of people, top education and medical facilities, civic infrastructure and safety. All these would comprise the inherent character of a city to be able to claim the coveted title. Being the north of south and the south of north, Hyderabad is virtually the centre of India. Its cosmopolitan culture, developed over four-and-a-half centuries now, salubrious climate, famed hospitality (so warm that you start suspecting your host’s motives!), a progressive and development-oriented government and a dedicated bureaucracy would win Hyderabad the title easily. Topped with its world-famous cuisine.


Also read: Indian cities can have intelligent growth, not become urban horrors like Gurugram, Mumbai


A winner on every parameter

In 2019, Hyderabad was named by the UNESCO as a “creative city of gastronomy”, and it is one of the 246 cities worldwide committing with the UNESCO to place culture and creativity at the centre of their development strategies and to share their best practices. And it’s not just the Charminar, pearls or biryani that make Hyderabad. Over the years, Hyderabad has been called ‘the emerging IT capital’, ‘pharma capital’, ‘capital of medicare’, and recently, ‘sports capital’ (with sportspersons, irrespective of gender and game discipline, emerging as world champions from the city). But, it has always been deprived of the deserving title of ‘most liveable city in India’.

Free of the power-laden troubles of the capital, snarls of over-population of the commercial capital, linguistic hurdles of popular southern metros, Hyderabad is certainly an easier place to work and live in. Its pluralistic essence, the ‘Ganga-Jamuni’ tehzeeb, is known globally. Arts and culture, tourism, the massive film industry and India’s biggest privately-run theatre festival add to the city’s charm. Abundant opportunities in every economic sphere, a great work-life balance, and affordable housing make Hyderabad an ideal job environment. Add to that a comparatively high safety rating for women, not just with ‘She Teams’ in place and an inclusive society with a history of communal harmony, you have a city that prioritises quality of life and symbolises an ideal global city.

Hyderabad stands out just as much as it assimilates.

Celebrated theatre revivalist and Tamil film actor, Mohammad Ali Baig is a Padma Shri awardee and is internationally known as ‘the global face of Hyderabad’s theatre’. Views are personal.

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46 COMMENTS

  1. Lathkur city ante Hyderabad ae. Old city mottam chatta chadaaram. Okkadini sense undi saavadu. Educated people e karuvu. Drainage lu pongi pararam Delhi Bangalore and Pune lo ledu. Except aa hitech City and financial district migita city anta yaak. People kuda okkadiki maturity undi saavadu. North Indian ammayilanu sollu veskoni chuddam tappa enka em chatakaadu. Evvadini chusina office lo andaru fake experience gaallle. Okka school cbsc di ledu middle class family ki. Asalu cbse and ssc ki teda telidu janaalaki . . Inkem abbo mem maa abbayini e school lo chadivistunnam ani pragalbhaalu palakadam tappa vaadu peddayyi society ki emanina chesatada ani okkadiki alochana ledu. Enka aa old city ki vaste. . . Vammo aa bhurkha lu endo aa illulu ento em artam kaavu. . okka howle gaanki saduvu raadu akkada. Inka roads avvi just upar shervaani andar pareshaani laga ala veste Ela paadavtay. Ento Delhi roads runways la anipistay naaku. Asphalt roads ante Delhi ve. Aa dikkumaalina vigrahaalu enduko chowrarasta lo. . ekkada chusina oka dikkumaalina moham emadhyana ekkuvaga kanapadutundi. Eppudu baagu padataaro ento janaalu. Chandigarh Delhi dehradun lo la hyd lo kuda planned colonies eppudu vastaye emo. Appudeppudo British and Nehru kaalam lo bachay ekkada north mana hyd chala mundu undi ante thu siggu veyaali janaalaki. Aa every year 10k crore budget allocation emayyindi mana ktr mantri gaarike teliyaali. Edo oka year ichhi e year 1700 cores anta andulo double bedroom illake 1000 crores anukunta inka hyd lo roads em vestaru. Ahmedabad budget is better than hyd city budget. Vizag 20L population ki and Hyderabad 1 crore population ki city budget nearly same ante artam cheskovachu. Mana deggara evadina gattiga adugutara ante okkadu kanipinchi saavadu. 65% literacy rate em chestam bihar kante goram. So hyd city rank is justiciable.

  2. Hyderabad is one of the best cities and the people in Hyderabad the best people in India and also in the world.
    The climate of Hyderabad is fine. Palaces and forts are beautiful in this historical city. I remember a poem of my father late Chowduri Gopal Rao on Hyderabad’s glory, which he wrote in Telugu,

    ఇది మన రాజధాని
    సకల విజ్ఞాన వికాస ధుని
    ఇది మన రాజధాని etc…
    the poem concludes with the following lines,
    అందుకే ఇది హైదరాబాదు
    దీనికే నగరం సాటి రాదు
    (Idi mana rājadhāni
    sakala vijñāna vikāsa dhuni
    idi mana rājadhāni etc..
    andukē idi haidarābādu
    dīnikē nagaraṁ sāṭi rādu)

    (This is our capital,
    the abode of all Sciences and arts and Development,
    This is our capital
    That is why this is the Hyderabad
    The city is unmatched)

    Hyderabad is the centre of India and in the hearts of people. Its culture has blossomed over four-and-a-half centuries now. Climate and hospitality and development would glorify Hyderabad.

  3. I lived in 3 cities- Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Out of these 3 Hyderabad us least cosmopolitan and diverse than other 2. Hyderabad is mostly dominated by hyderabadi culture. But people Hyderabad is good and friendly.

  4. Why are people so negative in their comments. It is one of the best cities to live in India. It has everything that Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore offer and is picking up pace to perform better than them. Yes we have had floods and our roads have been damaged but we will learn from our Mistakes and make them better. Mumbai and Bangalore have had their fair share of floods too but they are still good cities and so does is Hyderabad. To people who think Hyderabad is not a cosmopolitan city i would suggest do some reading.

    For driving enthusiasts I would suggest try our outer ring road and you will not forget our city or the road. For better connectivity of our towns we are getting our Regional ring road. Please do a reading on both of them and you will like what you read.

    I would request Mr Shekhar Gupta Sir to do a Video on Regional Ring Road as this has the potential to make our towns thrive on growth.

    Thank you

  5. So much of negativity in the comments – broke my heart!
    I too mentioned here how dirty old Hyderabad is, but hear me out again –

    I’m a north Indian born and brought up in Kanpur; studied in Delhi and Ahmedabad and in India stayed in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and NCR. Sure Hyderabad is relatively dirty than all of these cities but when it comes to people, I found Gujaratis and Telugus to be most friendly and nicest of people. In my engineering institute there were quite a few people from all the parts of India and all were nice but when you live in a place and get to interact with all sorts of people only then one realizes how good the people are.
    And I really liked Telugus and Gujaratis, may their tribe grow. We need more people like them in NCR which I’ll put at the bottom of human race when it comes to quality of people.

  6. But Hyderabad is definitely not as cosmopolitan, a necessary feature to be called liveable, as it’s other compatriots. In that it doesn’t come close to Mumbai, Delhi or Bengaluru.

  7. Area around Charminar is arguably the world’s filthiest and most crowded place. Only the Hitec city, and Madhapur are nice.

  8. Well written. Wonder what parameters they picked up to rate the candidates in race. Have the raters left out all the points that matter for Hyderabad?

  9. Best thing I liked in Hyderabad is “bhaichara” of people
    Other thing is that you feel you belong to whole city. In Delhi you only belong to part of city where you live. I liked the city when I was there.

  10. How is it most livable with damaged roads and terrible sense of traffic ? These are first essentials of a good living.

  11. Hyderabad is one of the best cities and the people in Hyderabad the best people in India and also in the world. But for those who have dirty inside, everything appears to be dirty.

    Climate of Hyderabad is fine. Palaces and forts are beautiful in this historical city.

    I remember the poem of my father late chowduri Gopal Rao on Hyderabad’s glory, which he wrote in Telugu,

    ఇది మన రాజధాని
    సకల విజ్ఞాన వికాస ధుని
    ఇది మన రాజధాని

    అందుకే ఇది హైదరాబాదు
    దీనికే నగరం సాటి రాదు

    Idi mana rājadhāni
    sakala vijñāna vikāsa dhuni
    idi mana rājadhāni
    andukē idi haidarābādu
    dīnikē nagaraṁ sāṭi rādu

    (This is our capital
    The abode of all Sciences and arts and Development)
    This is our capital

    That is why it is Hyderabad
    The city is unmatched)

  12. First of first I think that the roads of Hyderabad should have a concern for pedestrians which includes both young and old who want to cross from one side of the road to another side .We don’t have enough subways or over roof escalators to help people cross from one side to another like we have in Bengaluru ,Delhi,etc.Unless we start respecting the older population we are not eligible to get the title.Safety scores more than food

  13. Though it has some problems but it has quite been developed.the
    Are many resorts and picnic places over there.also there are many historical l
    places.

  14. Floods have caused havoc no planning, roads are worst.no proper drainage,worried about next rainy season.fotget biryani and chai,poor people are suffering lot.

  15. Being Hyderabadi sorry to say that in main city area Is no traffic system and roads are not good all curves very bad street lights and traffic signals .

  16. I’m from Rajasthan – found this funny “The world’s finest palaces Falaknuma and Chowmahalla, the impregnable architectural wonder, 450-year-old Golconda Fort”

  17. If Mac had lived here for a while he would not have put it this way. He must have seen some of the old city pics online. I agree in india there are few places In every city are not good and Hyderabad is not an exception. Unlike mumbai and bangalore as they are more show off and unnecessarily loot people just to be on higher side of cost to promote and safeguard real estate and business people by which they earn more tax.. show off does not fulfill stomach of poor and middle class people.. in Hyderabad you fill ur stomach even with rs 50 per day.. affordable living both rental and own.

  18. Hyd is just an overhyped city. The author should know it has low literacy female literacy rates, high crime rate against women acc to NCRB annual report, not even a single colony is planned (a major factor), filthy streets, no civic and traffic sense among public, absence of civil society, much of the food in hyd is made of cheap oil extracted from dead animals fat, worst schooling system (far less CBSE schools), pathetic public hospitals, except the palaces he mentioned old city of hyderabad is disgustingly dirty, poor and is of regressive socity. Except the western part of the city, hyderabad is backward and lacks basic amenities.

  19. Honestly it is to do with the majority Muslim many people from outside try to avoid due to this ,no wonder the author ignored this .

  20. No city can be ‘ deprived ‘ of the title of ‘ most liveable City ‘. If it genuinely deserves this title , it will surely get it.Every City will have its minus and plus points. Probably the winning City has the maximum positives and minimum negatives.

  21. Hyderabad does not need titles everybody knows it’s the best city in India 🇮🇳 ever 👍 jealous and partial people can do anything but, couldn’t effect brand hyderabad infact in growing better and better 👍 alhamdulillah ☝️ because God almighty Allah ☝️ has blessed hyderabad ❤️

  22. Really love what hyderabad has to offer. It is the most liveable city of india i can say. I have lived in Hyd for 3 years and also lived in Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai for quite some time.
    Traffic is not much in Hyderabad when compared to other cities. It is also very cosmo and strikes a balance of urban and traditional places to visit!!
    Rent is reasonable and cost of living is wayyy lesser when compared to bangalore and mumbai.
    Love Hyderabad 🙂

  23. People are so outdated.. in apparel as well as in thinking.. they are living in 15th century with their old customs and rituals.. its a 21st century .. very conservative people.

  24. Absolutely no doubts that “Manahyderabad# stand alone to claim its position at its own as “Most liveable and secure city” in our country the writer has already represents its essence from 4 minrates to high rises n skyscrapers, from auto to phantom etc.

  25. Hyderabad is indeed a friendly city.
    People are friendly and at the same time non intrusive.
    One thing that needs immediate attention is enforcing driving discipline.
    Like in Mumbai, people follow lane discipline…..one needs to just follow the car or vehicle in front……in highways upto Sholapur there is lane discipline.
    Here most even don’t know such a term is there.
    The way the two wheeler fellows weave in traffic……….will put a ballet dancer to shame
    Like in Mumbai ,three wheelers not allowed beyond Bandra to Nariman Point ftom long time.
    Please organise a brain storming session on this and get experts from Mumbai who can give suggestions.
    There will be protests…….in case any strong action is needed to be taken.
    Like for one week no two wheelers on peak hours…..except Ladies as generally they are safety oriented…..exceptions are there…..they can be identified and corrected.
    Citizen groups to be formed and their participation is necessary in such matters.
    These group will be in useful in case any extraordinary events….like rains last year.
    Let us be prepared …….rather than being reactive.
    Many good initiatives have been proposed but needs to be maintained.till it becomes
    a habit.
    Hyderabad is good…….but let us make it better.
    ..

  26. compare to bangalore and madras hyderabad is better city. food and rents are cheaper and less traffic jams roads are wide. But we are definitely deprived of parks and play grounds compare to bangalore.

  27. Every citizen will think and believe his City is the best, and nothing wrong for the author as a Hyderabadi to feel so. But it is the experts who decide using various parameters to decide the best city and Bangalore was given the honours this time. Lakhs and lakhs of telugus work in Bangalore, if not for the best living conditions in Bangalore why would they prefer to live in Bangalore

  28. What about the trash and garbage heaps; the open nallahs criss crossing the twin cities ; utterly chaotic traffic sense – especially driving on wrong side.

  29. Undoubtedly.
    When I learnt that govt of India has not included Hyderabad in top 5 and even top 10, I was shocked. This is the only liveable city in the country. I can honestly mention two issues that the city has- water crisis in some of the suburbs and the pollution level, and both only considered comparatively with other cities. Anyone who has lived in Hyderabad for considerable amount of time and have visited cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru meanwhile, can vouch for the pleasant differences Hyderabad has.

  30. It’s a dirty city. Who would want to visit the filthy old city. With almost no good places for a weekend getaway like the ones that cities like Bangalore, Mumbai or Delhi have, Hyderabad is a boring place that does not deserve to be mentioned amongst the top liveable cities. So called emerging IT city or pharma city are just that: “emerging”. Flowery language will do little to change the reality.

    • Bangalore is a shit pile of a city with horrendous traffic, nothing to scenic to visit apart from 1-2 gardens and Malls. Mumbai is again too congested and awful traffic and very very humid. Hyderabad is Pharma city and IT hub. Most of the covid-19 vaccines companies are in Hyderabad and all the big IT companies headquarters are in Hyderabad.

    • Haven’t visited Delhi so won’t comment on it. Bangalore is a shit pile of a city with horrendous traffic, nothing to scenic to visit apart from 1-2 gardens and Malls. Mumbai is again too congested and awful traffic and very very humid. Hyderabad is Pharma city and IT hub. Most of the covid-19 vaccines companies are in Hyderabad and all the big IT companies headquarters are in Hyderabad.

      • “The EOL index was first launched in 2018 and relies on indicators encompassing 15 evaluation criteria, such as education, governance, economy, affordable housing, identity and culture, assured water supply, public open spaces, wastewater management, power, health, land use planning, safety and security, quality of environment, transportation and mobility, and solid waste management.“

        Do you really think Hyderabad offers Proper garbage management(garbage spilled all over city except hitec city area), assured water supply(many areas under ghmc are without corporation water supply since years), solid waste management(construction waste dumped next to construction sites, sewer lines overflowiyeverwhere), public open spaces(where is greenery, parks, jogging tracks, etc), transportation(buses runs on only specific routes and people have to rely on private cabs for all the internal areas), etc?

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