Pothole-ridden flyovers dot the city putting lives of commuters at risk

In the fifth in aseries on condition of city infra, Express finds flyovers are in need of attention

HYDERABAD: It would not be a cakewalk for even most experienced motorists to ride their bikes on any flyover in the Hyderabad city as almost all the flyovers are dotted with potholes and cracks, in the aftermath of recent rains.


If anybody fails to carefully ride their motorcycle on any flyover, then they might end up taking their bike right into the middle of a crater, endangering their lives.
It is a nightmare to drive on the Fathenagar Road over Bridge (RoB), which is dotted with a number of potholes. The RoB, which is narrowest among all the RoBs and flyovers in the city, is posing serious problems to the commuters.

Trees growing into the Narayanguda flyover posing a threat to the commuters in Hyderabad on Monday | vinay madapu
Trees growing into the Narayanguda flyover posing a threat to the commuters in Hyderabad on Monday | vinay madapu


Satyanarayana of Shapurnagar, who daily commutes between Jeedimetla and Punjagutta, said, “Apart from a series of potholes, there are shallow cracks on the bridge. Hence, a lot of expertise is needed to carefully pedal bikes on this bridge. Everyday is a new day for me to negotiate potholes.”


The Greenlands RoB is no better than the Fathenagar one. It is also in a pathetic condition with potholes, giving jerks to the motorists. “Many of the commuters, who regularly pass through this flyover, are getting back ache and slip disc problems,” Prakash Jain of Ameerpet said.


Except a two or three, most of the 30 flyovers and RoBs in the city are in a deplorable condition. Driving on these flyovers is nothing but taking dangerous risks.“The pothole-ridden flyovers and RoBs are just a reflection of the fact that the concerned authorities do not care. And even worse, they do not even bother to fulfil the assurances they make to citizens,” A Sayanna, a software engineer, lamented.


One can easily find uneven surfaces with hundreds of potholes on these flyovers, raising serious questions over the quality of material used to construct the roads.


Greenlands, Begumpet, Punjagutta, Narayanguda, Paradise, Basheebagh and Tolichowki flyovers are in a pretty bad shape. The number could have been nearly double this had the remaining potholes not been filled using tar-mixture, which has made them dangerous for bikers. During rain, potholes that are filled with bitumen cannot be seen.


The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) in the past three decades has constructed as many as 30 flyovers and RoBs to ease traffic congestion. As HMDA was not in a position to maintain them, their maintenance was handed over to GHMC, a few years ago.


GHMC officials admitted that the flyovers and RoBs in the city are now in a bad condition. They assured that they would recarpet the surface of all the flyovers soon for smooth riding of vehicles.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com