Mancherial: Motorists irked as Gadderagadi-Srinivasa Gardens road works drag on

Works dragging on for over a year due to various reasons, including shifting of power lines, drinking water pipelines and cutting of trees among others

Mancherial: Work on a four-lane road and central lighting system between Gadderagadi in Kyathanapalli municipality and Srinivasa Gardens in Mancherial district headquarters is being executed at a snail’s pace, irking motorists and the general public.

The 3-km-long existing double-lane road between Gadderagadi to Srinivasa Gardens has been seeing traffic snarls frequently due to a considerable rise in the number of vehicles moving on the stretch. To ease traffic congestion, conversion of the road into a four-lane network and central lighting commenced at an estimated cost of Rs 22 crore in August 2023.

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The works have been dragging on for over a year due to various reasons, including shifting of power lines, drinking water pipelines, cutting of trees and delay in giving permission to lay metal. Around 50 per cent of the work is yet to be completed. Lack of coordination among officials of roads and building and the executing agency is attributed to lethargic progress of the work.

Due to the sluggish pace of the work, motorists are facing inconvenience in using the road. They are also being diagnosed with respiratory related problems with fly ash dumped on the road getting raised. The traffic is coming to a standstill in the morning and evening, causing inconvenience to motorists heading to Bellampalli, Asifabad, Kaghaznagar and entering Mancherial towns for various needs including medical emergencies.

“The travel time between Bellampalli and Gadderagadi is 20 minutes. But it is taking 20 minutes from Gaddaragadi to Srinivasa Gardens itself. Commuting on the road has become a nightmare. One has to be extra careful when using the road at night due to poor visibility. Officials should take steps to expedite the work,” S Sharath, a private employee from Bellampalli opined.

On November 7, Peddapalli MP G Vamshi Krishna expressed anger over the lethargic progress of the work during the district development coordinating monitoring committee meeting held at Integrated District Offices Complex. He instructed officials to take steps to speed up the work by coordinating among officials of various departments.

Mancherial district in-charge executive engineer the roads and buildings department Bhavu Singh told ‘Telangana Today’ that steps were being taken to expedite the work. They stated that the work would be completed by March. The work was delayed due to shifting of power lines, cutting of trees and drinking water pipeline, he reasoned.