Hyderabad: Illegal, haphazard parking chokes traffic in Old City

Hyderabad: Illegal parking and encroachments leading to traffic congestion remain a cause of concern in the Old City. Motorists taking Hussaini Alam, Mahboob Chowk, Motigalli and Khilwat routes continue to face much inconvenience to pass through the chocking roads.

According to locals, the busy arterial roads at different parts of Old City have narrowed down due to the haphazard parking and encroachments. Tourists and commuters are facing difficulty to pass through the Hussaini Alam, Mahboob Chowk, Motigalli and Khilwat routes. The key merging points including Hussaini Alam and Motigalli bring traffic movement to halt or slow down during peak hours. Also, illegal parking before shops and eatery centres cause to add motorist's woes.

Locals alleged that not only illegal occupancy of the vehicles near historical Chowmohalla Palace tarnished the image of monument but also causing inconvenience to the tourists who wish to park their vehicles. "Nobody seems to be serious. Traffic police must intervene in the matter to remove the unlawful occupancy,'' said Syed Aijaz, one of the residents.

"Merging point at Hussaini Alam and Motigalli needs immediate installation of traffics signals and removal of encroachments. One can find massive encroachments inside Mahboob chowk. The birds' cages and vehicles parked at the market narrowed down the passageway. Though there are traffic police personnel deployed at the entrance of Laad Bazar holding cameras, but they are least bothered to clear traffic jam during peak times,'' rues another resident Mohammed Khasim.

"There are narrow lanes and routes, where road widening is necessary. Traffic police personnel are deployed at different locations to make sure that the flow is smooth during any time of the day. people should also cooperate with us and follow traffic rules,'' said, Ravi Shankar, Traffic ACP Charminar.