HYDERABAD: On January 16, Arvind Kumar, Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, took to Twitter to announce that 28 Foot over Bridges (FoBs) were under-construction and would be ready in the next three months. However, more than five months have passed since the announcement, but the construction for the FoBs is yet to be completed, while the work has not begun in many cases.
FoB works that began last year at GVK Mall in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad Central at Punjagutta, St. Ann’s High School in Secunderabad and one at Ameerpet are going on at snail’s pace as not even 20 per cent of the works have been completed. It is unlikely to be completed in the next few months due to the monsoon, while for the other proposed FoBs, works are yet to start.
FoBs or pedestrian bridges have become essential on the busy roads for the safe crossing by pedestrians where there is high-speed motorised traffic. Having an FoB minimises the conflict between pedestrians and motorists on a busy road.
GHMC officials stated that FOB works are getting delayed due to the shifting of utilities, unavailability of right-of-way and the Covid-induced lockdown. They said they will instruct the concerned agencies to speed up the works.
In January, Arvind Kumar had issued instructions for the completion of a total of 28 FoBs at various locations on top priority. Nine FoBs were in the Serilingampally zone, five each in LB Nagar and Secunderabad zones, four in Khairatabad zone, three in Charminar zone and two in Kukatpally zone to address the needs of pedestrians and help them in crossing roads and junctions safely.
While the HMDA had planned five FoBs, three of them were completed in AS Rao Nagar, IDPL and Uppal, while the two at Vanasthalipuram (National Highway and PV Narasimha Rao Marg) were dropped due to unavailability of right-of-way.