Hyderabad: Will the RK Puram underpass be reopened to commuters?

Hyderabad: Will the RK Puram underpass service road that has been closed will get reopened? The locals pointed out that last month, the officials from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation along with a few locals carried out a joint inspection of RK Puram underpass service road. However, a factual based report on Telangana Roads and Buildings Department records on the ownership of RK Puram service road is still pending.

Meanwhile, the locals have demanded the authorities concerned to remove the wall as it was illegally constructed by Local Military Authorities (LMA), which was adversely affecting the connectivity of northeastern areas, and also traffic towards Sainikpuri and areas under the flyover. "When the flyover is constructed and maintained by the GHMC, how can the local military authorities have any right over the closure of the service road below it," questioned several locals.

"There is still confusion as to whether this service road belongs to the Local Military Authority or GHMC. Despite getting orders from the Ministry of Defence, neither the GHMC nor its Enforcement Wing has shown any interest in removing the wall that was illegally constructed by the LMA. Recently, GHMC officials along with locals have carried out the joint inspection and assured that a factual based report would be prepared. But till date, no such report has been made. Due to this closure issue, we are facing immense hardship to commute," said CS Chandra Shekar, Secretary, Federation of North-Eastern Colonies of Secunderabad.

"The wall was illegally built by LMA. But, this area falls under GHMC. Due to lack of coordination between LMA and GHMC officials, this issue has not been solved. I have filed an RTI seeking reasons for the closure of service road. I am still awaiting the response. Ultimately, it's the locals who are getting badly affected due to road closure," rued Robin Zaccheus, a resident of Neredmet. When asked about the progress of the factual report, a senior official from the GHMC on the condition of anonymity said, "We are not going to issue any such report. We have just inspected the area. The decision will be taken by the higher authorities, not at the zonal level."