Rains set to intensify but roads in Hyderabad & Secunderabad still far from ready

HYDERABAD: The monsoon is expected to intensify in coming weeks, but in the twin cities pending construction works, major repairs and strengthening works of flyovers, some of them damaged due to heavy rains last year, are still pending.
Despite repeated complaints to the civic authorities, commuters said that no solution has been found to avoid a rerun of last year’s floods that resulted severe traffic blocks due to the damages and heavy waterlogging on either ends of some of these flyovers.The vents on either side, provided to drain water, could not catch up with the rainfall received.
“The RK Puram flyover, which is 600 meters long, is riddled with several uneven patchworks of potholes, causing bumpy rides for commuters. The flyover connects to some of the busiest areas in Secunderabad and yet it is left in the state of despair even as the monsoons have arrived,” said David Raju, a software professional who uses the stretch frequently.

“Last year, hundreds of commuters including myself were stuck on the flyover for over one and a half hours, during the heavy rains that lashed the twin cities. Due to the delay in these repairs, we are worried we will have to face a similar situation this year,” he added. The flyover is crucial for the people travelling from ECIL, Sainikpuri, Neredmet and several other parts of Secunderabad. The situation is similar at Moula Ali flyover.

Speaking about waterlogging on most of the flyovers during rains, Harish Daga, an activist said, “The rainwater discharge pipes on the flyover are all blocked with bitumen. The civic staff cover these holes while they are relaying these roads with bitumen because of which the water stagnates every time it rains. Some of these vents have nearly one feet of bitumen accumulated in them. None of new SRDP flyovers have good quality vents.”
On the other hand, the delay in completion of construction activities of Bahadurpura flyover, Chandrayangutta flyover and Falaknuma bridge which was closed for traffic after a portion of the road caved in due to the rains last year, is leading to massive traffic jams in the surrounding areas.

“I think the delayed construction works of these flyovers needs to be taken into consideration immediately as the traffic continues to swell during peak hours. At Bahadurpura, the road that leads to the flyover is filled with construction waste which spreads onto the road every time it rains and make the entire stretch prone to accidents. There are 2 to 3 km long traffic jams on the surrounding roads of both these flyovers,” said Mohammad Areef, a mechanic shop owner, at Bahadurpura.
“The delay in works of some of these flyovers, including Bahadurpura, was due to issues related to land acquisition but now work is going on. It might take a year for it to be completed,” said Saroja Rani, chief enginner, GHMC. Asked about pending repair works on RK Puram, Moulali and other flyovers, GHMC chief engineer for maintenance, M Devanand said, “We are getting the repairs done on all the flyovers that fall under GHMC. We will check if there are any pending works and update the status.”