It is an approach road to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, but is devoid of any development even after six years of the airport becoming operational. The Owaisi Hospital – Chandrayangutta and Pahadeshareef road presents a sordid picture.
There are no pedestrian crossings, traffic signages or road dividers on this stretch. Bad road conditions and ill-lit stretches further compound the problems of road users.
For example, at the Omer Hotel junction at Hafiz Babanagar, a cluster of 12 thickly populated neighbourhoods, a traffic policeman stands during the day to control the traffic. “In the evening there is no one to regulate the traffic causing a lot of accidents. A proposal for foot-over-bridge here is hanging fire for last many years,” Syed Shaker, a local leaders complains. The situation is no different at the Riyasatnagar junction. Here there are no pedestrian crossing markings. A road divider is also missing on a large portion of the road and it is a foremost cause for accidents on the stretch, people complain.
Road conditions have improved a little bit, but the newly-acquired road stretches after recent widening are yet to get a touch of bitumen and tar. At some places the authorities are yet to shift the electricity poles. “The road improvement works began a decade ago, but not much has changed till now except a wide stretch,” Ghulam Ahmed, a local points out.
The road stretch from Barkas up to Pahadeshareef lacks adequate lighting. The lights from the vehicles temporary light up the stretch. “Pedestrian avoid walking on the stretch for fear of accidents and anti-socials,” says Mohammed Shareef, a businessman from Shaheennagar.
When contacted GHMC officials maintained that a project to take up road improvement work on Owaisi Hospital to Aramgarh junction has been recently sanctioned and works would begin soon.
