HYDERABAD: With the ongoing TSRTC strike, the wait for MMTS Phase II is adding to the woes of commuters. The situation is worse for the residents of Bolarum, Malkajgiri, and Medchal in Secunderabad, who have been demanding that the government start the proposed Phase II of the MMTS trains as soon as possible, which was scheduled to take off in December last year.
GK Kasi Nagesh, 37, who works in an IT firm in HiTec City has to travel for over 90 minutes every day to Neredmet Crosswords to reach his office. “With just a fortnight to go for Deepavali and ongoing TSRTC strike the situation is getting worse,” he said.
“During peak hours the problem of logjam has been continuing for years. Year after year, we have been complaining about this to the authorities but the officials are busy playing blame games. The SCR blames the State government for not providing the funds, the State puts the blame on other stakeholders. Then there are restrictions from the LMA considering the land on which the line will come up is within the defense limits. Meanwhile, the public continues to struggle. The speed at which the works are progressing, I don’t think I will use the MMTS in my life,” said Nagesh.
The jammed arterial roads and lanes are forcing residents to snake their way past multitudes of vehicles to reach their homes or office at many points including Paradise, Nagarjun circle, Jubbliee check post, and Madhapur.
“I am forced to take a private cab every day which is impossible to find during peak hours and is also very expensive. Due to the strike, the cabs are charging exorbitant amounts of money and with the festival approaching, the situation will only become worse,” said a resident of Medchil Sravanthi who works with Capgemini.
To complete the ongoing MMTS Phase II project, the RVNL needs nearly 65 acres of defense land to lay the second railway track between Bhudevi Nagar and Suchitra (on the Secunderabad Cantonment periphery) that will connect the Moula Ali-Sanathnagar stretch. However, the works have been pending for years.
The new MMTS Phase II will benefit over one lakh employees working in HiTec City, Madhapur, Gachibowli and Manikonda who have to travel a long distance every day to reach their work.