Hyderabad: No respite for commuters as Picket nala work drags on

Hyderabad: Travelling on the crucial Sardar Patel Road, or from anywhere in Secunderabad towards the Begumpet side, has been nothing less than torture recently due to traffic restrictions imposed on account of the Picket Nala work at Rasoolpura, which has been dragging on for over 70 days. And now, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials […]

Hyderabad: Travelling on the crucial Sardar Patel Road, or from anywhere in Secunderabad towards the Begumpet side, has been nothing less than torture recently due to traffic restrictions imposed on account of the Picket Nala work at Rasoolpura, which has been dragging on for over 70 days.

And now, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials say the work on the Karachi Bakery side might take another 15 days. However, commuting woes on the stretch might not end with that, because the second phase of the work on the other side of the nala, on the opposite side of Karachi Bakery, will take another 45 days once it starts.

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The GHMC took up remodeling of the bridge on the Picket Nala as part of the Strategic Nala Development Programme (SNDP), which aims at revamping the stormwater drain network in the city.

Once the work on the Karachi Bakery side is completed, officials say flooding issues in low-lying areas of Patny Colony, parts of Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) area near Jubilee Bus Station and Balamrai will be solved.

“The remodelling of the bridge has been completed and curing of the structure is underway,” said Kishan Rao, GHMC Superintendent Engineer, SNDP, adding that work on the other side of the nala was yet to start as the Traffic Police were yet to give road closure permission.

The Traffic Police, however, have their own reasons, one of which is the slow pace at which the current works are progressing. “We will review the request for the second phase of works only after the monsoon is over. The road witnesses heavy traffic and with rains, there is water-logging on the alternative routes. It will result in more traffic snarls throughout the day,” a senior Hyderabad Traffic Police official said, adding that GHMC had begun the work in the third week of April. “They requested us to notify traffic restrictions for 45 days. It is almost 75 days now and the works are still going on,” he said.

The traffic police, apart from notifying the diversions, had also posted additional men to streamline traffic. However, there are still regular traffic slowdowns on the stretch, with crossing the Paradise signal taking more than half an hour during peak hours.

“We were informed that while excavating the earth for remodeling, they found several cables and pipelines. The departments concerned were informed and they had to shift those, thus leading to a delay,” the official said.