Additional police personnel deployed to man traffic amid 30-day restrictions at Secunderabad underpass

Motorists said that their regular commute time has increased by 5-10 minutes

Signages were put up announcing the traffic restrictions imposed by Hyderabad police in the view of ongoing construction works of ‘MMTS Phase-II track connectivity’ between Sitafalmandi and Lallaguda. | Photo Credit: Lavpreet Kaur

 

A day after Hyderabad Commissioner of Police K. Sreenivasa Reddy announced traffic restrictions at the Aallugaddabavi underpass, at least four additional police officials from various traffic police stations in the East zone have been deployed at the site to ensure smooth flow of traffic. Month-long traffic restrictions have put in place at Aallugaddabavi underpass for ongoing construction of MMTS Phase-II track.

“Confusion prevailed in the past week as the road was blocked due to which restrictions had to be announced,” said C Venkatesh of the Nallakunta Traffic police deployed on the spot for managing traffic diversions.

“The situation has improved now with signages and public awareness about diversions on the route,” he added.

Restrictions on movement of traffic is set to remain till May 9. Though vehicle count was high, traffic flow was seamless.

Inspector of Chilkalguda traffic police Ch Srinivasulu who was manning the traffic at the site said, “The adjacent road leading towards Sangeet will be shut for the next leg of construction. The overall project will take about 90 days to complete.”

“The project was taken up strategically with schools and colleges shut and traffic flow less due to summer holidays,” Srinivasulu added.

An official from Gopalpuram traffic police station, M Venkata Ramana, who was manning the traffic and overseeing the construction work along with Inspector Srinivasulu, said the flow of traffic is normal throughout the day except during the rush hours between 8-11 a.m. and 5-8 p.m.

Motorists said that their regular commute time has increased by 5-10 minutes as a result of the restrictions put in place for the project.

“Since one of the two ways towards Sangeet junction is blocked, the road becomes a bottleneck in the evening,” said Naren Kumar, a private employee from Karkhana who commutes from Nagole. “It depends on what time you take this route. It gets slightly choked during the evening. I make sure I leave office post 9 p.m. so that it is less congested,” he said.

A constable from the Chilkalguda traffic police who was stationed at Sitaphalmandi said the ripple effect is being felt on Sitaphalmandi flover with ‘heavier than usual’ traffic as a result of the diversion. “Traffic flow has increased. However, the situation is under control. We are trying to ease the congestion as and when the need arises, particularly during evening hours,” he added.