Safe & Smooth Ride: HMDA takes up roads beautification & safety in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has taken up several beautification works along major roads across the city such as, rain gardens at various locations such as Khairatabad, Uppal, Attapur bridge, Malakpet and along Mundikunta cheruvu and Ikea Junction.

So far, the HMDA has completed lighting of all 167 Vehicle Under Parkings (VUPs) taking a major step towards safety.

Further, the authority would be taking a similar rock lighting projects which were taken up on both sides of ORR between Gachibowli and Shamshabad airport in 2018. So far the authority has identified seven stretches having rocks on the sides of ORR and tenders are under finalisation for taking up the lighting works.

Paintings of VUPs, rock lightings, scattered paintings, installation of sculptures all along ORR and landscaping of important interchanges such as Shamshabad, Narsinghi, Shamirpet etc are being taken up as part of beautification of Outer Ring Road (ORR).

Underpasses on the ORR Initially, 10 important underpasses with more traffic movement would be taken up for painting under the beautification project. Later, another 25 are planned. Similarly, at present eight VUP with four-lane has been selected for the ORR beautification project.

Major beautification

Ikea Junction which was developed during lockdown as it has more traffic movement along with rain gardens which are being developed are also adjacent to major roads such as Attapur Bridge under PVNR expressway, Khairatabad rjunction, Malakpet road and road from Asian theatre to Uppal Bhagayath.

Missing link Road no 23 and 26 is also being taken up by HMDA for landscaping works. "These are going to be among the most beautifully maintained and scenic roads anywhere in Hyderabad, says Arvind Kumar, Principal Secretary MA&UD & Metropolitan Commissioner (HMDA)

Cost of the projects

In total the HMDA in its first phase of major roads and ORR development has taken projects worth around Rs 8-10 crore.

Rain gardens have been taken up with an estimated cost of Rs 3 crore. Painting of Vehicular UnderPass (VUPs) scattered painting and beautification cost around Rs 2 crore. Landscape development of interchanges and rock lighting would be costing around Rs 4 to 5 crores.

"The projects on rain gardens and other beautification works such as triangle pockets at Shamshabad, Patancheru, Ghatkesar have been started from June and are expected to be completed by end of October.

Major works like rock lighting and landscaping of important interchanges such as Shamshabad, Narsinghi, Shamirpet etc would be completed by the end of the year," said Arvind Kumar.

The continuous rains in the last few weeks have affected the civil works, as they could not be taken up because of wet conditions. However, the landscaping work is going on at almost all the sites.

"Pandemic initially resulted in shortage of labour and delay in material supply delayed the projects initially.

Nevertheless, the lockdown time was used effectively to take up the works and some of the works could be completed at brisk pace," concludes Arvind Kumar.