Rain Damages Almost All Roads In Hyderabad
Relentless rains turn Hyderabad’s roads into death traps, citizens cry foul over civic apathy
Hyderabad: Non-stop rain that has lashed Hyderabad over the past few days has damaged the city’s roads, leaving potholes that jolt motorists and damage vehicles. Worse, the loosened gravel constitutes a separate threat especially to two-wheeler riders.
Several government bodies, civic agencies and police have identified several thousands of problem points on the city roads, but there has clearly been no fix.
Even a short spell of rain has been causing kilometre-long traffic jams, raising concerns among the public. Not just one locality, continuous rainfall has damaged roads across almost all areas of Hyderabad.
In Old Alwal, which falls under the north zone, the road from VBR Gardens to Kass Hostel — a key stretch for vehicular movement — has been badly damaged and riddled with potholes, leading to accidents. “Two-wheelers are getting trapped in potholes filled with rainwater and skidding off the road. Due to the poor condition of the roads, students and office-goers are getting delayed every day,” said J. Sathish Reddy, a resident of Old Alwal.
In Golconda, residents continue to struggle with pathetic road conditions due to drainage tunnel pipeline works that have been ongoing for the past three years. Although new roads were laid last year in Golconda and surrounding areas, they were dug up again for sewerage and water pipeline works. These activities have created more potholes, adding to the woes of the residents.
“As the work is progressing at a snail’s pace, people are struggling to travel from Moti Darwaza to Tolichowki via the MD line. Even today, it is difficult to pass through those roads,” said Mohd. Habeebuddin, a resident of Golconda. “Broken manhole covers and drainage filth are being dumped on the roads, making commuting even worse. The situation is similar across the Old City,” he added.
In the Singareni Officers’ Colony in Saidabad, residents are facing serious flooding due to incomplete roadwork. “The roads were dug up for drainage works but have not been repaved. When it rains, the water level rises up to three feet and enters homes,” complained K. Sriman Narayan Reddy, a resident of the colony.
Sriman Narayan Reddy added that the road connecting Shankeshwar Bazaar to Champapet is uneven. “During rains, we have to wait for the water to recede. There have been several instances of people slipping due to the silt on the roads,” he said.
People residing areas including Alijah Kotla in Charminar, IS Sadan to Saidabad main road, Uppal, Nallakunta, Moosarambagh bridge, Gopanpally, Triveni Nagar colony in Gaddiannaram, have also been suffering from bad road conditions.
IS Sadan corporator J. Swetha complained that Banunagar Road, used by people from at least five divisions, is in terrible shape. “Only patchwork is being done, which is not a permanent solution. When asked about full-scale repairs, officials simply deny the request, citing a lack of funds,” she said.
A senior GHMC official stated that the civic body has already launched a road safety drive to fix potholes, catchpits, and other issues in LB Nagar, Charminar, Khairatabad, Serilingampally, Kukatpally, and Secunderabad zones. “So far, around 5,100 potholes have been repaired. Due to continuous rains, the pace of work has slowed down. However, we have the necessary sanctions to fix the damaged patches in mission mode,” the official added.
