Hyderabad: With roads in the city being narrowed to accommodate Metro Rail staircases, the Sultan Bazaar Traders Association (SBTA) has filed a representation with the Hyderabad Metro Rail authorities saying that the staircase at Koti must not end on the road near Kamat Hotel.
Representatives of the association, in a meeting with Mr N.V.S Reddy, managing director of Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd. (HMRL), insisted that the staircase would have to end in the Koti Women’s College compound, as it would create chaos if it ended on the road.
They said that they had actively been following the works at Sultan Bazaar, Putlibowli and Koti, and had found that large 60-foot roads were being divided by staircases.
In places where the road is divided, the leftover portion is turned into a service road. But this is likely to be a problem for businessmen who have medium-sized vans and goods trucks arriving at their establishments.
In market areas, a part of the road is always reserved for loading and unloading of goods. At such places, the division of extended roads will mean that business establishments have to use smaller vans to transport their goods to the market.
Mr Govind Rathi, senior member of the SBTA, said, “We have placed our request before the HMRL, and the authorities have assured that they will speak to L&T Metro Rail.”
According to officers of the HMRL, extended pillars have been constructed at Putlibowli, and staircases have been constructed at Sultan Bazaar and Nampally. Also there is one more connection where the train will go above another train. These constructions have got the traders worried. They find that their skyline is now a criss-cross of Metro lines.
Signages put up in Hindu, Telugu, Eng.
Signage at the concourse level of Metro Rail stations indicates that trains will operate until Ameerpet, the largest interchanging station. From Ameerpet, passengers will be able to travel to Miyapur.
“This signage has been put up for people to understand that trains will only take them as far as Ameerpet. Similarly, on the other side, the route ends at Nagole. Signs in are three languages – Hindi, Urdu and Telugu so that people do not get confused and board the right escalator, according to their destination,” says a senior official.
Signs have also been put up on the Ameerpet- Miyapur stretch, to let people know exactly which staircase to take from the concourse level to the station level.
“No traveller will be allowed to cross the tracks. There will be private guards at the station level. If a passenger goes to wrong platform, he/she must return to the concourse level and then take another staircase to the station level,” says another senior official.
