Title - Metro works saved lives on Thursday

Hyderabad: Ongoing work on the Hyderabad Metro Rail in Dilsukhnagar may have irked citizens for the inconveniences caused, but it had indirectly saved many lives in Thursday’s bomb blasts.Though the HMR’s road-widening works had created traffic snarls, it had also evicted the numerous petty traders in the locality, due to whom a large number of shoppers used to throng the area.People from the middle and lower-income groups from many colonies in Dilsukhnagar, Malakpet, Ramanthapur, Uppal, LB Nagar, Nagole and Vana-sthalipuram come to these areas, especially in the evenings, shopping for their daily needs. Dilsukhnagar has good connectivity too, with hundreds of RTC buses and shared autorickshaws plying non-stop throughout the day, making it easy for people wanting to shop there.The scenario changed when HMR launched its works in Dilsukhnagar. Petty traders were evic-ted on either side of the road to enable smooth traffic. There was therefore a sharp drop in the number of people coming to the area. Officials are now relieved about this, as there would have been a greater number of casualties had these areas witnessed the usual rush on Thursday.