The presence of hard rock and flyovers, high volumes of traffic and the shifting of huge water and sewer lines, electrical cables, etc., are posing several challenges in the core area and HMR and L&T are devising site-specific engineering solutions to tackle these problems, according to HMR mananging director NVS Reddy.
He informed this to the MAUD minister M Maheedhar Reddy, who enquired about the progress of Metro Rail works and specifically about the Metro Rail connectivity to the Secretariat after inaugurating the newly-created Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department’s Conference Hall in the ‘A’ Block of the Secretariat on Monday.
After inaugurating the conference hall, the minister held a review meeting with the senior officers of municipal administration, including principal secretaries B.Sam Bob and Adhar Sinha, GHMC commissioner MT Krishna Babu and NVS Reddy.
Reddy explained that Metro Rail works were progressing at a brisk pace and that in coordination with the GHMC, the HMWS&SB, the traffic police, the APTransco, the APCPDCL and other utility organisations, the HMR was successfully tackling the challenges that were cropping up from time to time.
Regarding connectivity to the Secretariat, he mentioned that the nearest Metro stations to the Secretariat were Khairatabad and Lakdi-ka-Pul and that a skywalk will be built from Khairatabad station over the railway tracks, landing it near Imax theatre for easy access to Secretariat.
He also said that “merry-go-round” buses would be operated from both Kairatabad and Lakdi-ka-Pul stations to the Secretariat, the BRKR Bhavan, the GHMC office and other government offices located near the Secretariat to provide comfortable transport facility to the employees and visitors in the area.
Maheedhar Reddy has asked NVS Reddy to ensure that no heritage structure or lake was affected by the project.