Traffic snarls a daily sight on this stretch

Hyderabad: Heavy traffic congestions on roads leading from Erragadda to Kukatpally have become a grave cause of concern for motorists and four-wheel drivers who use the route frequently. Traffic jams as long as 1 km have become a common sight on pathways from Moosapet to Miyapur, reminding one of the rush hours in Khairatabad and Moazzam Jahi circles. Long lines of vehicles standing bumper to bumper also became a cause of inconvenience to pedestrians who try to cross the roads in these areas.

Though, the government has constructed service roads on either side of the main lanes to ease out traffic congestions, the traffic jams continue to happen. The Hyderabad Metro Rail has also developed green belts across several stretches of the road in order to curb pollution levels. But, due to population explosion on the outskirts of the city, and the influence of shopping malls and restaurants, the inland encroachments of the constituency has slowly led to the disappearance of several road spaces in the region.

Taking favours from political parties in the region, many wine shops, hotels and buildings have unlawfully turned portions of the main road into parking lots, despite traffic sign boards put by the police personnel. Residents living in the nearby colonies and inner sides of the road have questioned as to why the authorities were turning a blind eye to the issue without punishing the culprits. They also demanded the officials to immediately clear out the illegal parking spaces on either side of the road to ease out on the heavy traffic congestions. Speaking to The Hans India, Madhava Kantha Rao, a senior leader of BJP, expressed disappointment over allowing people to vandalise the constitutional freedom in the name of development. He blamed the ignorance of government authorities in arresting the situation.

When contacted, officials at Traffic Police Kukatpally Circle said, “The width of the roads has come down from 94 feet to less than 45 feet, as many shop owners are giving illegal parking spaces to their customers in the empty spaces beside the roads. Moreover, they are charging 10 rupees per vehicle, and thereby destroying the green belt for commercial activities. Hence, we have held discussions with auto drivers and shopkeepers in the area and will soon take serious measures on land encroachments to ease traffic situation in the constituency.”