Hyderabad: Harrowing experience in narrow roads

Hyderabad: When it comes to Old City, the 400-year-old city has grown leaps and bounds in area and populace. However, not all roads and lanes in the city have been widened which has put the denizens in apathetic conditions. Several areas in Old City consist of narrow roads which are being occupied by commercial outlets. This has become the main cause for huge traffic jams every day. The commuters in this southern part of the city blame the narrow roads for the perennial traffic woes. They say that even the main approaching roads in are much narrower.

"The 4 km stretch from Edi Bazar to Moghalpura is a 30 feet narrow road, vehicles plying in the stretch move inch by inch as the road is occupied by the traders including furniture shops, readymade garments etc. And the space meant for parking is being occupied by the advertisement banners and hotels," said Akhlaq Ahmed, a regular commuter on the stretch.

This traffic police personnel and civic officials have turned a blind eye leaving the commuters in hardships. "The entire stretch had around 30 furniture stores which display their stuff on roads and the vehicles which carry these items are parked on roads. Due to which we commuters face difficulties," said Sajid Khan, a commuter.

The other narrow roads in Old City include Edi Bazar, Talabkatta, Moghalpura, Bahadurpura, Shamsheergunj, Kalapatther, Karwan, Riyasathnagar, Mir Alam Mandi, Darulshifa etc.

"Even to cover a distance of a kilometre in these roads takes more than half an hour. It is a nightmare for commuters travelling in the Old City narrow roads," said K Venkatesh, a resident of Lal Darwaza.

Though GHMC authorities have widened many roads in the Old City in the past decades, there are congestion in every direction, which leads to bottlenecks. "There are several master plans for Old City but have been kept on hold by the GHMC, he added.

The city planners should design roads keeping in mind the number of commuters that use the stretch. And they should also demolish illegal structures occupying the roads by the commercial establishments, noted Venkatesh.