HYDERABAD: Pavements in the city, meant to be a safe passage for pedestrians, have yet again been commercialised by the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL). The construction of kiosks on the footpath under Hitec City metro station, near the compound wall of NIFT, has been restarted.
A memo was reportedly issued to the HMRL by the Department of Municipal Administration and Urban Development in September last for the cancellation of tenders to set up kiosks on the pavements. However, netizens have pointed out on Twitter that G+1 structures have come up on the pavements with ‘coming soon’ boards.
Speaking to Express, NVS Reddy, managing director of HMRL, confirmed the re-construction of the structures without, however, providing any explanation as to why the work has been started. In the pictures that are doing the rounds on social media, it can be noticed that in addition to the previous kiosk construction, another floor has been added as part of the new construction. This takes up the entire space on the pavement leaving no room for pedestrians.
Jasmine Singh, a design professional, posted about the construction on Twitter tagging Principal Secretary of MA&UD Arvind Kumar and NVS Reddy, and wrote, "The contract for these kiosks was cancelled. how come work started again (sic)?"
K Sai Krishna, an IT professional residing in Hitec City, said, "First and foremost, footpaths are for pedestrians, and not for shops. Secondly, these kiosks will create a massive traffic havoc. The traffic flow in the area is painfully slow during peak hours and on weekends. If shopping-related kiosks are opened on the footpaths, cars will be parked on the road and people will crowd near the entrance of the kiosks, while autos will look for customers to ply."
IT Minister KT Rama Rao, at a meeting a month ago, had announced that the provision for better walkways, bicycle paths and sufficient parking facilities would be developed extensively. He also added that footpaths and better road facilities connecting metro, MMTS, bus and railway stations in Hyderabad would be developed on par with international standards.