Heavy monsoon rains: Nearly 1,000 waterlogging hotspots trouble Hyderabad commuters
Hyderabad commuters continue to face severe traffic problems due to waterlogging, potholes and damaged roads across the city. Civic bodies have identified nearly 1,000 waterlogging hotspots, while the GHMC has announced a 10-day pothole-filling and repair drive
Hyderabad: Across the three civic bodies that administer Hyderabad and its vicinities, commuters this mid-monsoon are left to struggle through severely potholed and waterlogged road stretches.
In fact, according to estimates from the civic bodies, there are nearly 1,000 identified waterlogging hotspots, while there could be many more that escaped the attention of enumerators, adding to the woes of daily commuters.
One is forced to drive warily through waterlogged areas, dangerous potholes and damaged roads, resulting in traffic slowdowns and, at several places, commuters being stranded in traffic jams.
In fact, Cyberabad Municipal Corporation (CMC) has identified around 300 to 400 waterlogging hotspots across its zones, mainly at intersections along the IT corridor. Commuters lament that continuous waterlogging ends up concealing deep pits on critical stretches such as IIIT Junction, Gachibowli, Madhapur, Biodiversity, Miyapur and Lingampally.
CMC officials admit that over 30 per cent to 40 per cent of the roads are in bad condition. “Potholes will be filled after the rainy season. We will first study pothole-filling systems in two or three cities and then carry out the repairs,” CMC Commissioner G Srijana assured commuters.
Meanwhile, teams of Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation (MMC) identified around 188 to 200 waterlogging hotspots across its limits, including major trouble spots in all zones. Here, flooded bottlenecks on vital stretches such as Malkajgiri, Anandbagh, Safilguda, Uppal, LB Nagar and Hayat Nagar reportedly cause a major loss of professional deadlines and crucial morning logins due to traffic slowdowns.
There is resentment among commuters over civic body officials taking up infra works such as stormwater drains and road works without planning, and they complain these works have added to monsoon woes for road users on arterial roads.
The GHMC meanwhile has identified 200 to 300 waterlogging areas across all six zones. Commuters, including office-goers, in major corridors endure stress when it rains during peak transit times. Heavy traffic issues could be seen on key stretches including KBR Park, Punjagutta, Masab Tank, Mehdipatnam, Khairatabad, Lakdikapul, Abids, Secunderabad and Tank Bund.
To address the issues, the GHMC engineering teams were directed to carry out pothole filling and repairs as part of a 10-day special drive across all 150 wards from August 11 to 21.
