Religious Structures on Highways Threaten Road Safety

Nizamabad: Religious structures on National Highways, inter-state highways, and main roads have become a major cause of road accidents, resulting in several deaths and injuries. Despite repeated efforts by the Central and State government officials to remove such structures, progress has been slow. For instance, along NH-44, which connects Srinagar to Kanyakumari, and the Nizamabad-Narsi (Maharashtra) inter-state road, both Hindu and Muslim religious structures occupy parts of the road.

The speed limit on National Highways is 120 km/h, but some vehicles exceed this limit and face traffic challans. Since vehicle speeds between two toll plazas are automatically recorded, overspeeding and poor visibility near religious structures have led to several fatal accidents.

One example is the mosque located on NH-44 at Pochampad in Nizamabad district, which poses a threat to motorists due to its location near a sharp curve. The Hyderabad-Nagpur stretch, which carries heavy traffic, experiences frequent congestion and safety issues near this spot. During the expansion of NH-44 from two lanes to four, locals initially agreed to relocate the mosque, but some community elders later objected, stalling the process.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Raheemuddin, a resident of Balkonda, said pollution and high-speed traffic have already reduced the number of visitors to the mosque. He urged authorities to take a balanced decision in consultation with community leaders, noting that several accidents had already occurred near the site due to congestion.

Similarly, a Hindu temple located in the middle of the road at Malapally on the Nizamabad-Narsi inter-state road continues to pose serious risks. Vehicles, from heavy trucks to two-wheelers, face difficulty passing through the narrow stretch. Officials previously tried to remove the temple, but faced strong resistance from religious leaders.

Hanumandlu, a resident of Arsapally in Nizamabad, said that relocating such religious structures with the cooperation of priests and local communities would serve the larger public interest, citing the earlier example of the Phulong-Hyderabad road widening that succeeded through mutual agreement.

C. Srinivas Rao, project director, NHAI Project Implementation Unit (PIU), said proposals have been sent to the Central government for the removal of religious structures from National Highways. “Setting aside religious differences, our priority is ensuring road safety. Further action will be taken based on directions from higher authorities,” he added.