Hyderabad: Old City set to dot mammoth flyover, to ease traffic snarls

Hyderabad: To address the most concerning issue of traffic congestion on the busy Bahadurpura stretch, also known as Highway No 44, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has come up with a gigantic proposal to construct a mammoth flyover with at least eight to ten kilometers length under Musi River from Puranapul Shamshaan Vatika to Chaderghat Minor Bridge connecting several bridges on the way with ramps on both sides.

"The proposed flyover would help ease the traffic issue in the southern part of the city as the project covers underpass routes at several locations such as Puranapul, Muslim Jung Pul, and Shivaji Bridge with ramps on both sides to allow people to elevate and make a landing at different locations before the flyover finally concludes at Chaderghat minor bridge," informed Dattupant, Superintendent Engineer GHMC.

"We have drawn the sketch and are working over it to ascertain the feasibility of the proposal amplified with an estimated project cost of Rs 1,500 crore. If the proposal got the nod from higher-ups, it will solve the long-standing issue of traffic congestion at several points in the south zone area. However, it will take enough time to get into complete shape as this is one of its kind of a gigantic project coming up in the southern part of the city," claimed the officials.

To take a first-hand appraisal of the proposal, the team of senior GHMC officials led by Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar has visited several areas in the south and go into huddle at every point they feel the changes could be made to develop the infrastructure.

The officials visited Aramghar crossroad to check the feasibility of a proposed flyover from Aramghar crossroad to Zoo Park. It is said that Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar told the officials to ensure the works should be ground as soon as possible. The officials also visited the Uddam Gadda Railway halt at Shastripuram where the issue of traffic congestion has been leading to public suffering for several years although a Railway Over Bridge (ROB) project is pending despite securing approval of the GHMC three years ago.

It is said that the officials also discussed at length about the road widening project under the strategic road Development Project (SRDP) on the same stretch to which around 127 properties are getting affected.

The Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar reportedly told the officials to speed up land acquisition to ground the work soon. "The process of land acquisition on this stretch is in process and all the decks will be cleared in two to three months before grounding the works," said the official.

Later, the team of officials also visited the Bahadurpura area and took stock of the works going on there for the construction of a flyover. Here the authorities were told to complete the works by December to ensure the opening of the bridge for the public thereafter.