Road widening turns messy

Tolichowki: It has been more than a month now that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials dug up the Hakeempet nala bridge for widening the road and works are left incomplete thereby posing problems to commuters. As a consequence of the construction, the main route connecting Banjara Hills and Tolichowki at Hakeempet left commuters in a difficult state as there is no alternate route for them to use except for the one through Paramount Colony, which is narrow. According to locals, only pedestrians can move that too with great difficulty owing to the construction.

A businessman from Hakeempet, Aijaz said that the officials demolished the bridge long back and contraction is not regular. He said that commuters have been facing problem. “If we need to hire an auto we have to take that temporary bridge, which is not safe,” he mentioned.

Meanwhile, a commuter at Tolichowki, Akber added, “The problem is persisting because a lot of students and professionals use the route and they are hurrying to reach their destinations lest they are late. Consequently, there is a huge traffic jam here every other day.” Residents informed that the route has become muddy and uneven leading to health issues, such as back and joint pains. They demanded that the officials speed up work so that commuters can have hassle-free travel.

“It has become a tedious task to reach the main road following closure of this route. Thousands of vehicles have to take alternative routes including narrow by-lanes and longer routes for a smoother ride. To avoid this mess, I now take a longer route from Film Nagar via Shaikpet, to avoid hiccups on the way,” said a commuter Mohammed Jabbar.

When contacted, Tolichowki Corporator Ayesha Humera said that the nala work has been completed and the road widening work is expected to be completed soon.