HYDERABAD: The long-pending railway under bridge at East Anandbagh will be a major issue for candidates of all parties at Malkajgiri Lok Sabha constituency in the upcoming Parliamentary elections. The bridge has been pending for nearly four years, causing trouble for nearly fifty thousand denizens in the neighbourhood.
Surprisingly, South Central Railway (SCR) has completed a major portion of the work on the railway track. All that remains, and has been delayed, is the white topping of the road, something that the Roads and Buildings (R&B) and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) are supposed to do.
Denizens blame the State government and, especially, former Malkajgiri MP and now Medchal MLA Ch Malla Reddy for the delay.
They say that everyday, school children, senior citizens and women are forced to risk their lives and cross the railway track. Motorists, meanwhile, are angry over the road having been blocked for so long. In fact, some have forgotten that the road even existed at one point of time.
Speaking to Express, Deputy Commissioner for the zone in the GHMC, K Venugopal, said that the Railway Under Bridge (RUB) construction works have been delayed because of the laying of 132 KV power cables.
“The construction of a bridge needs the involvement of various departments such as Roads and Buildings (R&B), Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB), Southern Power Distribution Company (SPDCL) and GHMC.” He added that the R&B department has already sped up the works. “We assure residents that the problem will be solved soon”, he said.
S Venkata Rao, a resident of East Anandbagh, said, “In 2014, Malkajgiri MP Ch Malla Reddy laid foundation to the Railway Under Bridge with a budget of `50 crore. Since then, they have dug up both sides of the road and kept the work pending.”
He added: “We have given met the MP and MLA several times but they have not responded. But a year ago, work on the bridge began, perhaps for the Assembly elections and hence our votes. But after the elections, the work just stopped.”