Electric poles, transformers on Hyderabad roads hinder motorists
The traffic police has listed 592 electricity poles and 64 transformers located on the carriageway or part of it at various places in city.
Hyderabad: It is not only the shrines located on the roads that obstruct the free flow of vehicular traffic but even the electric poles and transformers left behind on the carriageway after road widening.
The failure of the southern discom to shift the electric poles standing in the middle of the carriageways, and the transformers, is testing the patience of motorists who are already suffering due to bad roads and traffic congestion caused due to the ongoing Metro Rail works.
The traffic police has listed 592 electricity poles and 64 transformers located on the carriageway or part of it at various places in the city and have urged the discom and the GHMC to get them shifted to the side of the road or on the pavement.
Motorists have complained that while shrines are hardly removed, there should be no problem in shifting the poles and transformers. “We support the TS government’s efforts to transform the city into a global metropolitis, but there seems to be no effort on the part of officials to protect the existing brand image of the city. Why should work like shifting of poles and transformers remain pending? During the day, these poles cause traffic snarls but at night they are threats to the lives of motorists,” said social activist T.S. Gupta.
Motorists complained that officials had failed to solve the problem of overhead hanging cables. The severed aerial cables hang dangerously on the roads and the GHMC has done nothing to remove them.
“There are also trees located on some roads. Due to sluggish work by the official machinery while axing trees, the trunks protrude on the roads, posing a threat to motorists. At some places, the sewer and storm water network manholes jut out above the road level. Footpaths in the city are not user friendly. All these problems can be fixed only if the officials start doing their work,” said advocate B. Venugopal.
Additional commissioner of police (traffic) Jitender said the poles and transformers would be removed soon as GHMC commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy agreed to pay for it.
“The estimated cost is a little over Rs 2 crore and Discom officials will shift the power supply infrastructure after calling for tenders,” said discom metro zone chief general manager Sateesh Kumar.