KBR Park one-way traffic restrictions come into force from Tuesday

One-way traffic restrictions around KBR Park come into force from today for a two-year infrastructure overhaul. Commuters, pedestrians and patients are likely to face longer travel and walking distances, while water tanker deliveries in Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills may also be delayed.

Hyderabad: The much-debated one-way traffic restrictions around KBR Park will come into effect from Tuesday, marking the start of a two-year diversion plan for a major infrastructure overhaul, which has already left commuters, pedestrians and patients concerned.

Motorists heading towards Jubilee Hills Check Post from KBR Junction via Punjagutta will now have to take a six-to-seven-kilometre detour, adding roughly 30 minutes to standard travel times. Severe peak-hour gridlock is anticipated along the alternative corridors as personal vehicles will compete for space alongside public transport options including cabs, TGSRTC city buses and autos.

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Hyderabad-based public policy expert Donthi Narasimha Reddy slammed the KBR Park traffic restrictions in a representation to Hyderabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar. He questioned how it could be possible to deploy police personnel and drone monitoring round the clock to oversee traffic without consultation with the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) and the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC).

Highlighting pedestrian vulnerabilities, Narasimha Reddy pointed out that navigating hidden, uneven or entirely missing footpaths while heavy traffic surges past is a serious hazard. For citizens, he said that the issue is not merely whether a route is technically open, but whether it remains safely and realistically navigable on foot.

Reddy questioned the GHMC authorities whether they had mapped locations where pedestrians are routinely forced onto carriageways. When Telangana Today reached out to GHMC officials, they maintained that while there are gaps in certain sections, roughly 70 percent of the footpaths are available for pedestrians at KBR Park.

Apart from commuters and pedestrians, hundreds of patients and their attendants from different areas of the two Telugu States who visit several important hospitals and healthcare facilities in and around the area are likely to be seriously affected. Due to the one-way traffic, the patients and their attendants will have to bear an additional walking distance to reach the hospitals.

Reddy said that patients should never be forced to choose between an expensive auto/cab journey and an unsafe walk to reach public transport. Have the authorities taken any specific measures for pedestrian safety in the new arrangement, he questioned.

Consumers may face delays in water tanker delivery

The traffic overhaul is also expected to have a major impact on HMWSSB’s water tanker supply network. Currently, the Water Board is supplying water from eight filling stations on Road No 10, Banjara Hills (Thattikana section), near Indo-American Cancer Hospital, to nearly 10,000 to 25,000 consumers in the Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills areas through 25 tankers.

Due to the traffic restrictions, water tankers will have to take a detour of at least five to six kilometres. As a result, tanker pendency is likely to accumulate and tanker deliveries may also be delayed.