Where are the roads in the city? Maybe, you will find them amidst potholes that have come up thanks to the rain, but more importantly, due to the indifferent attitude of the civic officials.
Driving in the twin cities has literally turned into a back-breaking exercise, which has also taken a toll on the movement of traffic. Parts of the roads break away in the rain, leaving loose gravel on the roads which are dangerous for motorists plying on the stretch. For instance, the stretch from Tivoli junction towards Secunderabad Club is shrouded in dust almost every evening, owing to the loose gravel from the beaten track.
Freak accidents
“The officials concerned should take up repairing works soon. Such roads become perfect spots for freak accidents. Last week, a motorist lost control and skid on the stretch, hitting another moving vehicle,” says Syed Ghouse, an auto driver.
Madhapur, which with its IT infrastructure had the city bleeping on the global map, is a better example. In front of Cyber Towers lay exposed the tale of inefficiency of the administration in providing good conditions for road users, inefficiency of the contractors in laying quality roads and failure of those supposed to monitor the work. While the work on the flyover is already hampering traffic movement, the restricted road available is full of pits offering a rather bumpy ride and bringing traffic to a grinding halt during peak hours. “With such conditions, it becomes difficult to get to work on time as a lot of vehicles ply on this part of the city,” says Simon Abhishek, a bank employee.
In front of Shilpa Kala Vedika, the most nightmarish experience awaits a driver as one turns hard to negotiate the ups and downs from the slushy pits during the rain. The stretch on both sides till Kondapur on one side and Kavuri Hills on the other too are dotted with craters ensuring a continuous feeling of unease for the road users.
Secunderabad too has a number of bad stretches. Road after road lies in a battered condition, be it the AOC road or the one near Secunderabad railway station and Bhoiguda.
Residents of Alwal too have been suffering for long due to badly maintained roads. “The entire stretch from Golnaka crossroads to Temple Alwal is in a pathetic condition and it has been so since six months,” said Ashwin Nallari, a consultant. The best examples of worst roads in Secunderabad are the East and West Marredpally roads. “The roads were fine before. Then they started digging it and didn’t care to relay the roads,” laments Sridhar Reddy, a resident of West Marredpally.
The conditions of roads are similar if not worse even in A.S.Rao Nagar, Ecil X Roads and beyond. Roads in Tarnaka, Mettuguda and Habsiguda too suffer similar fate. The link road from Tukaram Gate towards Anand Bagh can hardly be called a road.
The Kharkhana-Tirumalgiri stretch is riddled with potholes in intervals causing havoc during rains. “The potholes are filled with water and inundates the road,” says Manoj R, a resident of Vikrampuri.
At the Kavadiguda stretch vehicles are seen getting stuck in the deep craters, holding up other motorists on the stretch.
Fed up of the negligent attitude of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), locals in the area dump sand, and other debris to level the road. “Even if it rains, the officials should come up with a concrete plan to tackle water logging and bad roads all through out the year,” says Ramesh Rao, a resident of Kavadiguda.
(With inputs from T. Lalith Singh and D.V.L. Padma Priya)
