Rain-battered roads in city prove dicey for commuters

Hyderabad: Driving through city roads has become a risky affair for commuters following the recent rains. Ongoing construction works have exacerbated the situation, turning already bad roads into hazardous paths. Additionally, patchwork repairs completed during festivals have been washed away by the heavy rainfall.

Residents are facing extreme inconvenience due to poor maintenance, which includes potholed roads, damaged manholes, stagnant water, unattended garbage, and incomplete roadworks. The rainfall has left many roads damaged, posing risks to commuters and leading to accidents in some cases due to the improper road conditions.

Whether in residential colonies or on main roads, people are taking detours to reach their workplaces and return home. Road users are urging authorities to undertake quality work to properly repair the roads.

It has been observed that various colonies in areas like Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills, Kukatpally, Khairtabad, Ameerpet, Nampally, Tolichowki, Langar House, Film Nagar, Shaikpet, Madhapur, Kapra, Nizampet, Serilingampally, and Uppal are riddled with potholes, creating a hazardous driving experience. The presence of damaged manholes further jeopardizes the safety of both pedestrians and motorists.

“Rain caused the asphalt to erode and the blacktopping was washed away, creating numerous large potholes. The patchwork was done recently during the festive season,” said Suresh Jain, a commuter from Sri Nagar Colony in Jubilee Hills.

Roads throughout both the New City and Old City are damaged and filled with potholes. In the Old City, Mohammed Ahmed, vice president of the TDP Minority Cell, submitted a representation to State Chief Secretary Shanti Kumari, MA&UD Principal Secretary M. Dana Kishore, and GHMC Commissioner Amrapali Kata regarding the poor condition of roads. He requested immediate repairs, highlighting that the roads in the Charminar south zone are particularly in bad shape, filled with deep potholes, causing regular traffic snarls.

Despite awareness of the deteriorating road conditions, zone officers have shown a lackadaisical attitude towards addressing the issue. Ahmed noted that over 20 areas, including Shalibanda, Chowk, Mir Alam Mandi, Diwan Devdi, Panjesha, Fateh Darwaza, Hussainialam, Moghalpura, Chaderghat, Falaknuma, Malakpet, and Chandrayangutta, are severely affected.

In addition to the bad roads, inadequate drainage worsens the situation, leading to water pooling in various colonies. This not only breeds mosquitoes but also increases the risk of mosquito-borne diseases. The accumulation of uncollected garbage adds to the unsanitary conditions, according to residents.

Earlier this week, GHMC Commissioner Amrapali Kata directed officials to fill potholes across the city immediately to prevent further inconvenience for commuters. She also instructed the sanitation wing to clear garbage regularly from collection points to ensure roads remain intact.