Hyderabad flyovers lose glory as greenery dries up amid poor watering and rising summer temperatures

Landscaped greenery and vertical gardens under several Hyderabad flyovers are drying up due to rising summer temperatures and inadequate watering. Citizens have raised concerns over poor maintenance, while GHMC officials said efforts are underway to restore the greenery before the monsoon season.

 

Hyderabad: Even as the hot summer is extracting a heavy toll, lack of upkeep and adequate watering is causing the landscaped greenery under the city flyovers to dry up.

---

The condition of plants and landscaped patches beneath several flyovers has deteriorated over the past few weeks, with dry foliage and wilting visible in areas that previously had greenery. With daytime temperatures in the city rising sharply over the last month and the required regular watering apparently not being ensured, the plants and grass under several of these flyovers are turning dry.

In fact, the vertical gardens installed at various flyovers across the city have already lost their greenery due to inadequate watering, with plants drying up at flyover pillars.

The affected flyovers include Punjagutta, Shaikpet, Begumpet, Parade Ground, Khairatabad, Basheerbagh, Greenlands and Hitec City, where the vertical gardens installed at flyover pillars have dried up. Ribbon grass and fern plants on pre-designed metal panels have gone dry and the aesthetic look of the flyovers has vanished.

The GHMC Urban Biodiversity wing maintains vertical gardens at over 100 locations to combat pollution and reduce summer temperatures. However, inadequate watering is being pointed out as the primary reason for the decline in the condition of these green patches under the flyovers.

In several areas across the city, even the plants on centre medians have turned dry and lost their aesthetic green touch along the road infrastructure.

Citizens decried the withering of the plants and attributed it to the lack of maintenance and watering. “Hyderabad flyovers are losing their glory with the loss of greenery and a parched look beneath them,” quipped Aswini Rao, a businessman at Basheerbagh.

A senior GHMC UBD wing official acknowledged that the vertical gardens at certain locations had dried up. “Despite the severe summer, we are managing the existing greenery under the flyovers and continuing watering works. Regarding the centre medians, we will replace the dried plants and plant new ones ahead of the onset of the monsoon,” the official said.