Hyderabad: Two railway crossing gates give harrowing time to commuters

Hyderabad: The railway crossing gates at LC 249 at Turkapally and LC 255 at RK Puram are giving hardship to the commuters forcing them to wait for more than an hour during peak hours for the gate to open. Railway over bridges (ROB) -road under bridge (RUB) were proposed, but all that seems to be just on paper. An RTI reply to the petition reveals that the district collector is yet to give approval for the construction of LC 249 RUB and works are yet to be sanctioned for LC 255.

Robin Zaccheus, a social activist said, "Both these projects are just on papers and the works have not been expedite yet. The gridlock at these junctions is giving hardship to commuters as both the projects are delayed as the State government is yet to give the approval for the project or release the funds. The South Central Railways (SCR) has stated in an RTI response that Rs four crore has already been sanctioned for LC 249 but the district collector is yet to give an approval. As soon as the DC approves the project, SCR will begin the work."

"LC 255 at RK Puram is pending since 2011, even after witnessing heavy traffic jam for hours, the works are not being taken up yet. ROB works are been proposed on50:50 cost-sharing basis, the cost estimate will only be prepared after the State Government sanctions the works," added Robin.

A Murali Krishna, working president of Federation of New Bolarum colonies, said, "Many colonies in Turkapally are cut off due to LC 249. It has become imperative for the locals to reach their destination forcing them to wait for hours until the rail gate opens.

"There is no clarity about when RUB at RK Puram be constructed. The situation here gets worse day by day. We have been approaching the government authorities for years, but there is no response from them. Due to the railway gate. There is a huge traffic jam being witnessed daily, especially during peak hours," said a local.