WARANGAL/ KHAMMAM: The southwest monsoon, a boon for city, continues to be a bane for the city roads. Following the recent rain, several roads, particularly in the interior areas, have been damaged, making it difficult for motorists.
Except for a few roads, all others in the city are filled with potholes, say denizens. The road leading to Hanamkonda bus station circle that once was a pleasure to drive on has become a nightmare for motorists owing to the rain that has battered the stretch and negligence of authorities. The rains have turned the road into a water body, forcing motorists to drive on whatever area is left.
Similar is the case of the road between Ambedkar statue and NGOs Colony, where the entire road has been dug up and has not been covered yet. In the absence of caution boards, these pits near arterial roads and in residential areas are often unnoticed resulting in accidents.
“Many persons have met with an accident and suffered grievous injures on the Ambedkar statue stretch. On any given day gravels can be seen scattered on the road,” said a resident of Balasamundram.
To add to their woes, the residents say, the ongoing laying of drinking water pipelines works, under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation scheme, is inconveniencing them. At many places roads have been dug up and power cables are seen lying loose on the ground causing a threat to commuters.
Agency areas worst hit
Incessant rain during the past few days led to overflowing of streams on to the roads and slipping of boulders across the paths in some villages in the Agency area of the district. Pregnant women were not able to go to the hospital for their regular check-ups as several roads have been inundated. Recently, a woman delivered her baby by the stream side while she was being shifted to the hospital in Cherla mandal.
Though the government claims to have improved the road connectivity in remote villages, there are still hundereds of villages in Bhadrachalam, Yellandu, Palvoncha and Sattupalli divisions that do not have a pucca roads.