Hyderabad: Road-widening delay causes hardships

Hyderabad: Even after the higher officials took keen interest in it, the road-widening from Himmatpura in Shalibanda to Doodh Bowli in Hussaini Alam, still remains at standstill. Demolition works planned way back in 2018.

For the last two years, several higher authorities visited the road-widening works and on Monday, Charminar MLA Mumtaz Ahmed Khan, accompanied by GHMC officials, inspected the status of works which have been kept pending for long. He instructed the officers concerned to start the works and complete them as earliest.

The stretch is choking with vehicular movement for most of the day. The road-widening will not only help commuters pass through the stretch comfortably but will also increase options for those who wish to avoid traffic snarls in area.

According to GHMC officials, the road-widening for about 2 km was undertaken by GHMC to provide a better connectivity to the important localities of Shalibanda to Hussaini Alam via Fateh Darwaza and also Bahadurpura, bypassing the Charminar through Khilwath. A total of 170 properties were acquired.

Speaking on the issue, Mohammed Ahmed, vice-president of minority cell, TDP, said, "The road widening works were started in May 2016, and demolition works were carried out towards end of 2017.

About 70 per cent of the demolition works were completed, and the remaining were to be completed by 2018. A total of 170 properties were acquired, out of which only 130 were demolished and remaining were kept pending."

Even now, as many as eight properties are yet to be pulled down. They belong to Wakf Board which has not yet been approached by the officials for their acquisition. The works are being delayed due to these properties coming in the way.

"As many as 45 cheques of land acquisition were pending, and the GHMC had been neglecting this issue for several months and works have stopped for the past nine months," Ahmed said.

"During lockdown several works were taken up across the city and were almost completed and it is surprising why these works remain pending in the Old City. No work was taken up during the two-month lockdown," he added.