Title - Metro works hampering traffic and trade

Road widening being carried out by Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd (HMRL) at Kukatpally near JNTU has thrust this stretch into utter chaos. Over the last three months, there has been a rise in the number of accidents and a drop in sales at retail outlets lining the road.

    The road, currently at the mercy of metro rail officials, is a national highway (NH-9) with the work being undertaken on the stretch between Kukatpally and Miyapur. Residents and commuters complain that accidents have been occurring more frequently due to the unevenly laid road while traders are unhappy with the huge mounds of mud blocking access to their stores.

    L Nagesh, who takes the route daily, said, “In the past two weeks, there have been more than a couple of accidents. In some places, potholes have been made over with a fresh layer of asphalt but following right after is an uneven stretch where many motorists slip after losing their balance.” Traffic guards confirm that they have indeed witnessed many two-wheeler accidents caused by the uneven surface. Officials at the hospitals in the area agreed that there has been a rise in the number of road accidents. Dr Ravi Bhujanga Rao, of the casualty ward at Anupama Hospital, said, “Daily, we get at least three cases of road accidents that occur on the Kukatpally main road. Most of these cases involve two wheelers.” Officials from Remedy Multispecialty Hospital, Kukatpally, too, said that there had been an at least 10% rise in road accident cases over the past two months. T

    hings have not been any better for the retail traders in the area. Shops have recorded almost a 25% dip in sales over the last three months. Virender Singh, an employee at an electronics store, said, “It has been months since mud was dumped here for laying road anew. But there is a service road that lies between the main road and the shops on which huge mounds of mud have accumulated to block the way to the stores. Neither can these stores now offer parking space to their customers. The store has seen an almost 25% drop in business over road widening.”

    Other shop owners in the area, too, are vexed at the impact on business and livid at having had to pay out of their own pockets to clear some of the debris in the interests of business.

    Officials at HMRL, however, have assured that these problems will be over soon. BN Rajeshwar, general manager (works), HMRL said, “The remaining mud lying there will be removed and a retaining wall will be constructed between the main road and the service road. Footpaths will be laid too. First, we are focusing only on the main road; we will start working on the service road later. The work there is expected to be completed in two or three months.”

Road widening works lead to frequent accidents and erode business of retail vendors