Important initiatives of Road Sector in Bangaru Telangana

Important initiatives in Road Sector:

1. Double Lane Roads Connecting Mandal Head Quarters with District Head Quarters:

In order to improve connectivity between Mandals headquarters with District headquarters, Government has taken up initiatives to widen roads from single lane to double lane. Administration sanctions were given to 139 roads for widening to double lane connecting 1973 Kms at a cost of Rs. 2572.50 crore. Works are at different stages of completion for 125 roads covering a length of 1630 Kms at a cost of Rs. 2213.07 crore.

2. Widening of Single lane roads to Double lane for Some Major District Roads/State Highways/Core Road Network:

To cater to the increased traffic, Major District Roads/State Highways/Core Road Network are being widened from single lane to double lane road. Administratively sanctions were given to 258 works in 2014, covering a road length of 2747 Kms at a cost of Rs. 3668.32 crore. Works in progress for 120 works covering a length of 1078 Kms at a cost of Rs. 1388.01 crore. Works completed 10 works covering a length of 43Kms at a cost of Rs.48.15 crore.

3. Nehru Outer Ring Road:

In order to improve the road connectivity and decongest the traffic flow in Hyderabad, a 158 km long Nehru Outer Ring Road (ORR) being constructed in outer suburbs of Greater Hyderabad. ORR passes through Patancheru (on NH- 65 towards Mumbai) – Kandlakoi near Medchal (on NH-44 towards Nagpur)- Shamirpet (on Rajiv Rahadari) – Ghatkesar (on NH-163 towards Warangal) Pedda Amberpet (on NH-65 towards Vijayawada) – Shamshabad (on NH-44 towards Srisailam) – Patancheru (on NH-65 towards Mumbai) providing connectivity to various National Highways, State Highways and Major District Roads.

Outer Ring Road is will provide following benefits:

(i) provides connectivity to peripheral areas of the city,

(ii) acts as a Bypass to the Hyderabad City, reducing congestion and pollution in the core city,

(iii) provides linkage to the Radial arterial roads,

(iv) connects the new urban nodes outside the city like, Hitech City, Games Village, Hardware Park, Singapore Township, Biotech Park, Apparel Park and Finance District etc.

(v) provides High-speed connectivity to 22 forthcoming Satellite townships, and

(vi) provides linkage to the MRTS and Bus systems.

The ORR is being taken up as an eight-lane access controlled expressway. The entire project is being implemented in 3 phases.

(i) Phase-I: From Gachibowli to Shashabad – 24.380 Km,

(ii) Phase-IIA: From Narsingi to Patancheru and Pedda Amberpet to Shamshabad of length 62.30 Km,

(iii) Phase-IIB: from Patancheru to Pedda Amberpet via Kandlakoi, Shamirpet, Ghatkesar of length 71.30 Km.

At present, all stretches are completed and opened to traffic except a length of 1.10 Km at Kandlakoi and a length of 10.30 Km from Shameerpet to Keesara, and a length of 11.00 Km from Keesara to Ghatkesar.

A Road That Changed Their Lives

Two Winters ago, on January 18, 2004, the first bus reached village Gangapur in Adilabad district, opening up a whole new world for its people and those in nine surrounding hamlets. It used to be a day's travel by bullock cart in the summer to reach the town of Pembi, 40 km away. During the rains, it took double the time: the villagers had to cross the backwaters of the Kadam reservoir in country boats and then wade through waist-deep water to cross rivulets. All that changed with a 12 km road connecting Gangapur to the main road and the nearest town of Kadam. About 1,800 villagers and the district police, braving the threat of Maoists, worked together to lay the ‘kutcha’ road that cuts through two hillocks and many small rivulets. Work began on November 20, 2003, and was completed on December 15, 2003. Despite having extremely fertile lands and abundant groundwater, Gangapur and the surrounding hamlets had remained poor. The villagers practised primitive methods of cultivation. Traders and middlemen got fat on the yield while the farmers starved. Education and healthcare facilities were almost non-existent. Gangapur and the nine hamlets, mostly inhabited by Gonds, Kolams, and Lambadas, were once strongholds of the Maoists. Not anymore. Two hillocks were cut through and 37 culverts constructed across the rivulets to connect the village to the main road running between Kadam and Utnoor towns. The road has saved the villagers from the middlemen, who had till then dictated the price of paddy, turmeric, cotton, and maize. The villagers are a transformed lot today. Some of them go to Kadam town just to know the prevailing market prices. Frequent visits to Kadam, where they interact with others, have taught the villagers new farming techniques. Some have begun hiring tractors to till the lands and the area under cultivation has increased. They now sell mahua flowers and beedi leaves collected from the forest at a Girijan Cooperative Corporation outlet in Kadam. Along with development activity, the road has ushered in the habits of modern world. There is a great demand for tiklis (plastic bindis), soft drinks, beer, and gutkha at the three kirana stores that have sprung up in Gangapur. An enterprising tribal installed a dish antenna and wired up the entire village. There are now more than 100 colour TVs in the village. (Source: Excerpts from a news article published in The Hindu on 10.06.2006