HANAMKONDA: With the ongoing four-lane road works between Medaram and Warangal, travelling on National Highway 163 (Warangal-Medaram) has become a risky affair for most people as the highway is now just a series of dangerous stretches riddled with fatal potholes.
More often than not, commuters are left struggling to identify even the unfinished ongoing works along the road, as the officials have not taken the initiative to erect sign boards that warn drivers at the deep curves. A large number of devotees are reaching out with their families to pay their offerings to the Sammakka-Saralamma deities in the tiny village of Medaram.
With just thirteen days to go for one of the biggest tribal festivals in the country, several stretches on the road are not in a motorable condition. Needless to say, the situation is likely to cause massive traffic congestion and, in turn, inconvenience to the devotees. In fact, the national highway has become dangerous for commuters. One can’t identify the curves and diversions on the road with the four-lane work on the sides.
NH163 is an important stretch, primarily because it leads to two prominent cities - Warangal, Hanamkonda, and Mulugu district. It is therefore understandable that there would be a huge volume of traffic on the road during the Sammakka-Saralamma Jatara.
Taking this into consideration, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) had taken up the work of converting a four-lane National Highway 163. Speaking to TNIE, P Anil, a private vehicle driver in Warangal, said that the ongoing works for road expansion has turned into a death trap for commuters in Medaram Jatara. We request the NHAI authorities to speed up the project and make the ride on the highway smoother, said Anil.