Hyderabad: This is Nizampet’s highway to hell
HYDERABAD: People traversing this fast-growing residential hub of west zone, flanked by ORR on one end and ORR-JNTU link road on the other, are left with a painful experience due to the horrendous condition of the road. Residents of Nizampet say they feel like they are living on an island, disconnected from rest of the city, thanks to the pothole-ridden roads.
The 4-km link road that connects Bachupally and Nizampet Gram Panchayat to ORR on one end and to the JNTU metro station on the other, becomes further narrow at Nizampet, a fast-growing residential option for the IT crowd. “It is a nightmare in the rush hours as it is the only main road linking us to the rest of the city. Not only is it damaged severely but now HMWSSB has dug it up on sides making it a traffic congestion point,” rues Sridhar Macha, a resident of Bachupally.
The link road was proposed on paper to be 100 feet wide, but is barely 30 feet at points. “The rapid urban growth and encroachments have eaten up most of the road, whatever is left is not maintained well. Making matters worse, there are hawkers and debris dumped by the water board that is digging up the sides,” says Ratna Gopal a resident of Hill County in Nizampet.
Meanwhile, authorities maintain, the work is on the anvil and would be completed soon. “We will be doing emergency repairs on the potholes within 15 days. A sum of `8 lakh has been sanctioned, and we are clearing the tender process for the same. Repairing the damage done by HMWSSB is not under that plan right now,” said Chander Singh, Executive Engineer, Roads and Buildings department.
What about the other roads?
For an IT employee like Sridhar, whose workplace is in Gachibowli-Hitech area, there are only two options, one to go via the link road or to go via the GRIET College Road onto Bollaram road, both of which were dug up 4 months ago for water works and left undone since. “The road is no better, even though it’s for a short stretch. It’s covered with just gravel causing heavy traffic jams in evenings,” adds Sridhar. Authorities, however, maintain the work is underway.