HYDERABAD: Strange but true, statues of some departed great souls and a God’s abode have stalled some of the main works under the state government’s prestigious Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP) for over five years. Though the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) could shift the statues after prolonged deliberations with several organisations and complete the construction of flyovers, the temple authorities were not willing to oblige, forcing the civic body to redesign the project.
According to a senior official, the GHMC proposed to construct multi-level skyways, grade separators and an underpass at LB Nagar Junction, Bairamalguda Junction and Kamineni Hospital Junction on Inner Ring Road and Chintalkunta Check-Post Junction with an estimated cost of Rs 331.38 crore. However, seven statues present on the four sides of the LB Nagar X Roads halted the project for at least two years. After holding a series of meetings with numerous associations, the authorities managed to relocate the statues and completed the construction of flyovers at Kamineni Hospitals, Bairamalguda, and the underpass and flyover at LB Nagar Junction.
However, a religious structure has halted a project worth Rs 448 crore for five years. Finally, the GHMC has redesigned the right-hand side flyover at LB Nagar. The authorities have now decided to convert the two-lane flyover into a single lane after redesigning the down ramp towards Dilsukhnagar. This apart, the corporation has also taken up the underpass construction on the right-hand side.
Despite having funds and acquiring lands, the skyways proposed near LB Nagar Junction, Bairamalguda Junction and Kamineni Hospital Junction came to a grinding halt due to shifting of statues of seven prominent personalities since 2015. Statues of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, father of the Constitution DR B.R. Ambedkar, social reformer Mahatma Jyothi Rao Phule, Telangana martyr Srikanta Chary and others on four sides of the junction turned prime hindrance for the project.
A senior GHMC official said the corporation redesigned the project and converted two lanes into one lane after the temple authorities were not willing to shift the structure. He said in order to avoid inconvenience to commuters, the corporation had no option but to complete the flyover construction by redesigning the right-hand side flyover. The official revealed that the change in design would create a bottleneck for motorists travelling towards Dilsukhnagar from Vanastalipuram. He said that the project would be completed by the end.
In this regard, traffic diversions are put in place to facilitate construction of the right-hand side vehicular underpass at LB Nagar Junction. Work is going on at brisk pace to meet the targeted date of completion on January 31. Deep excavation has to be carried out at the police station for construction of retaining wall towards Secunderabad side, where width of the service road is very narrow, and does not cater to the road traffic. Considering the high risk associated with commuting on this road, it has been closed for a month, necessitating traffic diversions.
