Things have started moving in the right direction for the planned flyover which would connect the northern parts of the city to the highway leading to Nizamabad and Karimnagar, after the Telangana State government made its request to the Defence Ministry to part with 52 acres of Army land along the highway.
The idea behind acquiring the land is to build six-lane flyovers on the route from CTO to Medchal and Plaza-Hakeempet on the highways connecting the northern part of the city with Nizamabad and Karimnagar districts respectively.
If successful, it will be a boon for the people from northern Telangana districts of Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Medak, and even more so for those frequently plying to and fro from the northern parts of city. The proposal mooted by Telangana Chief Minister K .Chandrasekhar Rao reached the Defence Ministry, and the file was returned to the Defence Estate Officer here in Secunderabad.
Intricacies in conceding the land are being analysed by Defence officials. Source said the State government had proposed to give 52 acres of land to the Defence Ministry elsewhere. “If this didn’t work out, the government was toying with the idea of paying market price for the land to be acquired,” an officer unwilling to be identified said.
Unlike routes connecting the city with Vijayawada, Kurnool, Mumbai and Warangal, those linked to Nizamabad and Karimnagar are narrow. “People coming from Kurnool to the city can reach Mehdipatnam without much fuss by going up P.V. Narasimha Rao Expressway. But, the roads from the city centre to Nizamabad and Karimnagar are narrow,” said private school owner P. Sharath, who lives in Bowenpally.
It is not easy for people to come to the city from Karimnagar, Adilabad and Nizamabad districts. Three hours is the journey time from Karimnagar to Secunderabad. In a four-wheeler, one can reach Bollarum in two-and-a-half hours covering nearly 130 km. But from Bollarum to Jubilee Bus Stand, it takes more than 40 minutes or even an hour during peak hours. Same is the case with Hyderabad-Nizamabad route. One can comfortably reach Suchitra bus-stop from Nizamabad, but the next few kilometres journey to reach central parts of city are time-consuming. Since the stretches linked to these routes are located in Secunderabad Cantonment Board area, the Ministry of Defence had to give the land away.
