Date:31/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/31/stories/2008073159670300.htm

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Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Motorists at receiving end

Staff Reporter

Re-carpeting of roads affects traffic movement in city

- Photos: G. Krishnaswamy

Commuter’s nightmare: Bad patches of roads at KCP junction and Begumpet.

HYDERABAD: Official apathy in re-carpeting roads after repair works is affecting traffic movement on thoroughfares in the twin cities. Motorists are forced to a grinding halt and burn extra fuel, circumventing the craters on the KCP Junction - Punjagutta stretch and on the Begumpet main road.

Zooming in fast on the roads, motorists are forced to slow down when they hit the bad patches and have a torrid time crossing the KCP Junction. While motorists taking a right towards Hotel Taj Banjara wait for signal clearance, those heading towards Punjagutta and Ameerpet have a tough time manoeuvring through the scattered gravel and craters at the junction.

“Civic authorities took up some repair works at the junction and have not felt the need to re lay the road, making motorists suffer. It would hardly take them a couple of days to complete the work but even that is ignored,” fumes K. Dayanand, an autorickshaw driver. The positive impact of Punjagutta flyover in aiding smooth flow of traffic on the Punjagutta - Ameerpet stretch is erased at KCP junction as motorists are forced to shift to lower gears.

The situation is no different on the Begumpet main road. Despite wide road space, traffic moves at snail’s pace on the road near Anand theatre. After executing some civic works, authorities here too have delayed the relaying works, leaving motorists at the receiving end.