SANGAREDDY : Believe it or not, the four highways that are passing through Medak district have been witnessing two deaths and three injuries on an average every day for the past three years. This is despite the tall claims made by the authorities that they were taking all steps to reduce the number of road accidents.
The efforts by the government to complete the works at a minimum cost are said to be one of the reasons for the high number of accidents and Rajiv Rahadari from Hyderabad to Ramagundam stands as a testimony to this. The road that stretches from Ontimamidi on the borders of Ranga Reddy district to Shanigram in the borders of Karimnagar covering a distance of 82 km and it has as many as 60 turnings. Though the road could run in a straight line, it was not laid like that due to constraint of funds needed to acquire lands from private parties.
There were even allegations of corruption, wrong alignment of the road and compromise on the quality of construction, all of which led to so many bends in the road and the high number of accidents.
The House Committee headed by Bhanu Prasad, MLC, suggested that the highway be laid straight to avoid accidents. Chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, a frequent traveller on the road, has recently wondered about so many curves the road has and asked officials to take steps to set it straight.
On June 10, an entire family of four members lost their lives in an accident that took place at Singaraipally village in Vargal mandal at a turning when their vehicle hit a stranded vehicle. An entire family was wiped out in another accident that took place on the same road soon after the earlier accident.
“This road was designed to withstand a speed of 80 kmph but people are driving at more than 100 kmph, causing accidents. Repeated appeals for careful driving are not yielding results,” said road and buildings superintending engineer Sridhar. As the road was laid in public-private partnership (PPP), the private operators, who are maintaining the road under build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis, have not came forward to invest much in land acquisition resulting in more number of curves in the road.
The other three high ways that pass through the district —NH 65, NH 44 and Akola-Nanded Highway — also witness a large number of accidents. While rains are damaging roads leaving huge caters, officials are failing to undertake repairs or erect sign boards warning about road conditions.