HYDERABAD: Hyderabad may be ready for the brand new Amazon campus at Kokapet, the largest one the company has outside the US. However, an important question that needs to be asked is, are Hyderabad roads ready for the 1.8 million sq ft campus and the 15,000 employees and several thousand contractual employees it is slated to bring in? Not just Amazon, the whole area is slated for several new IT campuses and parks which will bring in close to 5 lakh employees and sharply increase the traffic in the area.
While the existing infrastructure on the main roads of Financial District has been given a nod by experts, in terms of having sufficiently wide roads, footpaths and street lights, the real cause of worry is the service roads leading up to the campus. These service roads have seen a spurt of activity as they help people ditch traffic on the main roads and reach the places located near ORR with ease.
The crucial areas are Kollur to Narsingi via Kokapet and Nanakramguda to TSPA via Narsingi, which are seeing an unprecedented amount of traffic. The Kokapet circle is being seen as one without proper infrastructure.“Several new IT companies, schools, establishments are coming up in Kokapet. However, invariably, they are all linking up to the service roads running parallel to the ORR.
The density is so high that the infrastructure on these roads is not sufficient,” said Vijay Kumar, DCP, Cyberabad Traffic Police. Explaining that these service roads do not have basic infrastructure, he said traffic management here has become a nightmare for police as well. “The number of forces required in this area is much more than what we presently have,” he added.
Keeping these things in view, The Society for Cyberabad Security Council has initiated talks with various stakeholders like TSIIC and HMDA to develop these roads. They are also in talks to implement one way system- from Hyatt to Amazon and from Amazon to Waverock, to ease the traffic build-up in future.Experts further note that to avoid a situation like Hitec City main road in Financial District and adjoining areas, a lane discipline focused traffic management system must be deployed.
“The government must attempt to ensure lane discipline is maintained and give priority to carpoolers and public transport. A futuristic approach to planning for the future traffic is the key,” Professor KM Lakshmana, of the department of Civil Engineering from JNTU, said.Officials also note that the IT managements should commit towards the idea of employing traffic management systems in their companies to reduce the impact. “The companies must start discouraging single person car users and promote carpooling, public transport etc,” DCP Vijay Kumar said.