Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation all set to get 10 FOBs ready by end of December

HYDERABAD: To facilitate pedestrians cross the roads without any hassle, especially at busy junctions, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has set a deadline to complete at least 10 foot overbridges (FOBs) in the city by this year-end.
After the government issued orders for construction of 52 foot overbridges in 2018, three foot overbridges were constructed under public-private partnership (PPP) but did not serve the purpose as they were set up in areas where there was very less or no pedestrian movement, officials said.Foot overbridges set up near Muffakham Jah College of Engineering and Technology on Road No. 2 of Banjara Hills and near Shilparamam at Madhapur are among the three foot overbridges which were set up under PPP model.
Later, 36 foot overbridgeswere taken up in the first phase at an estimated cost of Rs 120 crore but most of them are not completely functional.
“After conducting a survey of the areas where these foot overbridges are planned, it has been decided that about 10 foot overbridges will be completed by this year-end. Another 15 foot overbridges will be completed next year,” said M Devanand, GHMC chief engineer (maintenance).
Infinity Mall near Chandanagar, ESI Hospital at Erragadda, NSKK at Balanagar, Neredmet crossroads, Central Mall at Panjagutta, GVK Mall at Banjara Hills, Swapna theatre at Katedhan, St Anns, Secunderabad, St Anns, Tarnaka and My Home Jewel at Miyapur are the 10 areas where the FOBs will be constructed by December.
“Each of these foot overbridges is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 3 crore. While all the foot overbridges have a lift, some of them will also have escalators,” said Devanand.