Hyderabad: Residents of Malkajgiri and surrounding areas are exasperated by the closure of the level crossing at Safilguda from the last week of August for repair work. It was supposed to be opened to traffic on September 15. Two months after the deadline, the gates remain shut.
Commutes through the area have become a nightmare for residents of Balramnagar, Vidyanagar, Uttamnagar, Dayanandnagar, Devinagar, Neredmet, Safilguda and Sharadanagar.
The residents are forced to drive through narrow bylanes, often choked with traffic all through the day.
The Uttamnagar road underbridge (RUB), inaugurated in 2018, too, has been unable to improve matters given that it is very narrow.
“I am a practising lawyer in the district courts in Malkajgiri. I have an office near the court complex. Everyday, I have to drive through narrow bylanes to get there. All it takes is one vehicle breakdown for a massive traffic jam to occur on these roads.”
Sai Kumar Marredpally
“I work near Picket and have to commute through this area everyday. I am losing a lot of time on commuting. Normally, it doesn’t take very long. However, due to the closure of the level crossing I have to travel a long distance.”
G. PrabhakarSainiknagar
“Traffic is being diverted across all the areas. Everyday, there is a massive traffic jam at the Uttamnagar road underbridge. Whichever road we take, it is taking a long time to reach our destinations.”
Gopal Singh Balramnagar RWA president
“First they told us the repair work would take only 15 days. The railway level crossing is located on an important road that leads to Secunderabad. It has become a nuisance to the nearly 1.5 lakh people living here. Residents have planned a letter campaign to be submitted to Gajanan Mallya, GM, South Central Railway.”
B.T. Srinivasan, Gen. secretary of united federation of RWAs
“It will be difficult for people from Malkajgiri to travel to the city centre. The road closure by the authorities is uncalled for and needs to be done with better planning and arrangements.”
G.S. Rao Saket resident
“This is a long pending problem, and there are multiple agencies that are dealing with the work. The sudden closure of the road would lead to problems for a lot of travelers.”
Maj (retd) Shiv Kiran Begumpet resident
