Hyderabad: Motorists on Saturday witnessed hour-long traffic jams on the Khairatabad-Punjagutta-Ameerpet corridor, Punjagutta-LV Prasad-Jubilee Hills check post stretch, and the roads from MJ Market to Afzalgunj via -Siddiamber Bazaar and the Lakdikapul-Masab Tank stretch. With motorists trying to negotiate and manoeuver the vehicles to avoid potholes and bad patches of roads, vehicular traffic slowed down considerably and ultimately resulted in traffic jams on several stretches of the roads.
Though it did not rain heavily, intermittent drizzle slowed down the traffic further. Many motorists vented out their anger on social media. Banjara Hills’ inspector Vidyasagar said the traffic only slowed down and there was no traffic jam. Contradicting the claim, Pinisetti Satish, who was stuck in a traffic jam at LV Prasad Eye Institute, Banjara Hills, said: “It was at 3 pm, which is non-peak hour. Yet, there was traffic jam right from Punjagutta Smashana Vatika to NTR Trust Bhavan.”
Motorist Ramesh Nainwal commented on the traffic police Facebook page that most jams were due to the bad condition of roads. “People are spending hours on roads burning fuel and adding to air and noise pollution. Blame it on the GHMC,” said Mr Rajesh Kumar, an advocate. DCP (traffic) A.V. Ranganath said there was heavy traffic throughout the day and vehicle movement was slow due to bad roads.
“There were no major traffic jams; vehicles did move, but slowly. We have suggested the GHMC to study how coastal cities and countries like the Nether-lands deal with rainwater stagnation. When the Hussainsagar gets full, the rainwater from the roads does not flow away and water comes out of drainage chambers,” he said.
Motorists vent their anger:
Minister K.T. Rama Rao told the GHMC commissioner that focus was needed on repairing roads that were in an extremely bad shape. “All of GHMC’s good work is unfortunately undermined because of the road conditions. The engineering team must focus solely on getting the roads laid in proper condition. No other priority till this is done," he said. This came after people vented their anger on social networking sites using a hashtag with the name of the road followed by “worst road”.
IT employee N. Sow-mya, said: “Near Shilparamam, Bazaar, Salarpuria Cyber Park, water accumulates whenever it rains. Dirty water from manholes resurfaces. The level of water then can reach the car/bike silencer, bringing the vehicle to an abrupt halt.” Another “worst road” was the Nizampet road near JNTU junction. “During rainy season, accidents occur daily as the water fills up all the deep pits and it feels like plying on a mud road,” said Ms Sharmila Murali.
Roads in merged municipalities too are in a bad condition. Suha-sini Sagar described the condition at Wipro Junction. “The road from Wipro Junction towards Nanakramguda is in the worst possible condition. Huge potholes make it a nightmare for a biker. With rain water pouring in, it is becoming impossible to take that road,” she said. Many posted pictures of massive jams on the the traffic police Facebook page seeking help to clear the mess.
“Do something; make traffic flow easy instead of just monitoring and challaning traffic violators. Help the people of this city by reducing the traffic by finding innovative methods. Why doesn't your department put pressure on the GHMC to construct proper roads which are the main causes of water overflowing and traffic,” said P. Rohit, who posted a picture of the Nayapul bridge.
