Rule-breakers rule the roost at Mehdipatnam junction

100 challans issued every day for driving on the wrong side, but it continues unhindered

It’s a seven-metre wide bottleneck that is giving nightmares to civic officials, traffic police, commuters, and pedestrians. All of them are at their wit’s end to solve the chaos at Mehdipatnam junction. The current solution of forcing people from Humayunnagar, Asifnagar, Gudimalkapur and other areas to drive till pillar number 23 of PVNR Expressway has obviously failed with people driving across the road under pillar number 5 and 6.

“We are issuing 100 challans every day for driving on the wrong side. But people don’t care, they just take the U turn without bothering about the onrushing traffic and cross the road at high speed,” says a senior police official. “We have suggested a traffic island to ensure that people don’t drive on the wrong side of the road,” added the official.

It is not traffic mismanagement; Mehdipatnam junction is at the heart of the changing demography and geography of the city. A few years ago, Rajendranagar, Attapur, Gachibowli, Lingampally and Narsingi were sparsely populated areas. But a housing boom has transformed these areas into one of the most attractive residential locations.

Added to the misery of commuters is the fact that there are no buses from Mehdipatnam to Zirra, Nampally, Langer Houz, Gudimalkapur and other southern parts of the city. This gap is filled by share-autorickshaws that clog the road.

It is not for want of trying. Over the last few weeks, the police officials have booked three fruit vendors under 402 Act of the GHMC and sent them to jail for five days, and slapped them with a fine of ₹3,000. But the cat-and-mouse game between the police, vehicle owners, and hawkers continues. “Can’t we do anything? They are beating up street hawkers and some of them have even been sent to jail,” says a fruit vendor at the entrance of Rythu Bazaar standing near a no-hawking sign.

The fine for a pushcart vendor if he/she is caught and his/her cart impounded is ₹150. “Sometimes when we impound the pushcart and handover the challan, the offender is ready with the penal amount at Goshamahal even before we tow it to the location,” says a police officer. There are no-pissing, no-hawking, towing zone, no parking signs, but to no avail.

“We are working on a solution and looking for various alternatives at this location. At other places also, the long roundabouts have become a problem as many citizens drive on the wrong side to shorten their trip,” said a GHMC official, requesting anonymity.