Heavy Rains Damage 854-km R&B Roads in Telangana
Minister orders urgent restoration, Rs 1,030 crore needed for full repairs
Hyderabad: Heavy rain over the past several days have caused extensive damage to Telangana’s road network, with 854 km of stretches managed by the Roads and Buildings (R&B) department affected at 739 locations across the state.
R&B minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, along with Special Chief Secretary (R&B) Vikas Raj, reviewed the situation with engineers through a teleconference from the R&B State headquarters on Wednesday. The Minister directed officials to ensure uninterrupted public transport by immediately restoring traffic on damaged culverts, bridges and washed-out stretches. He asked them to prepare detailed proposals for permanent reconstruction while carrying out temporary works to prevent further disruption.
The Minister instructed officers to remain on high alert, not to avail leave during the emergency, and to work with urgency until connectivity was fully restored. He underlined the need for coordination at the field level so that relief measures could be taken up without delay.
Vikas Raj briefed the minister that 25 stretches had been completely cut off, though five had already been temporarily restored. At causeways, traffic was diverted at 228 out of 310 locations, while 175 of 232 disrupted points had been cleared for movement. He said 200 sites had been prioritised for restoration, requiring Rs 46 crore for temporary works and Rs 984 crore for permanent solutions.
To monitor the situation continuously, a 24×7 control centre has been set up at the R&B Head Office under the supervision of Chief Engineer Mohan Naik. Four officers are working in each shift to track field complaints and coordinate responses across all 37 divisions of the State.
The minister also took stock of the condition of National Highway stretches, road overbridges (ROBs) and road underbridges (RUBs). NH in-charge ENC Jayabharathi and CE Rajeshwar Reddy apprised him of the current status and the progress of restoration works.
Commending the engineers for their efforts during the past ten days of incessant rains, Komatireddy praised their commitment and asked them to continue working with the same alertness until all critical road links were restored.
