Hyderabad: Slow pace of FoBs works irks citizens

Hyderabad: As the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has failed to provide pedestrian-friendly FOBs (Foot Over Bridge) in parts of the city, pedestrians are finding it difficult to cross road. The Municipal Corporation's FOB project has been going on at a snail's pace as out of 38 FOBs sanctioned in 2020, only seven are thrown open to the public and three will be inaugurated soon.

In order to curb accidents and also help pedestrians cross road safely, the GHMC proposed over 38 FOBs in its limits at different places at the cost of over Rs 100 crore. However out of the 38 FoBs only seven of them were completed in three years and three FoBs are nearing completion and the remaining are pending on different phases.

Locals have welcomed the development as pedestrians have always found lack of facilities for them in crossing busy stretches. In absence of FOBs, pedestrians are struggling to find a way through speeding vehicles on various major roads in the city. The seven FOBs were completed and opened for pedestrians in Madinaguda, Miyapur, Punjagutta, Balanagar, Neredmet, Secunderabad, Rajendranagar and one is soon going to open in Banjara Hills. "Most of the FOBs are pending due to lack of response from the tender and other issues. In most of the areas, people especially shopkeepers and other commercial establishments are raising objections and also approaching the court," said an GHMC official.

Majority of FOB project works are taken up, structure works were completed, and some FOBs are incomplete due to various issues including the electricity wires, cables and drinking water pipelines which are causing delay in opening. Three FOBs in Tarnaka, A S Rao Nagar and Inner Ring Road will be made available soon," added officer.

Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi directed the concerned officers to complete the works at the earliest. Apart from these 38 FOBs, in the past, over 20 FOBs were built and made available for pedestrians under the GHMC. Moreover, to prevent traffic congestion and to prevent accidents in the city, the GHMC has taken steps and built 415 km of footpath and will be completing 817 km of footpath in different parts of the city with the cost of Rs 32.75 crore. 38 proposed FOBs are in L B Nagar (10), Serilingampally (10), Charminar (7), Secunderabad (5), Khairatabad (4), Kukatpally (2).