Roads in Qutuhbullapur constituency turn into death trap for commuters

The tall claims by the authorities and the bravado put up by them on a day-to-day basis notwithstanding, the tragic irony (which the locals are fighting with their survival instincts) is that the eight-kilometre Balanagar – Narsapur highway stretch has become an avoidable fatal attraction.

The killer road from Jeedimetla to Gandimaisamma is so horribly pathetic that traveling across the stretch is one hell of a ride. People have no other option but take the same route, which has umpteen number of potholes that are more than one feet in depth. On a rainy day, the torturous ordeal becomes that much more profoundly painful.

At places like Jeedimetla Depot, Suraram, Gandimaisamma, Sai Baba Nagar etc., water gets logged for several days. Roads were last laid before the 2009 elections. The wear and tear of the past five years has deteriorated the situation further.Bad drainage facilities are the main reasons for the roads getting damaged as water gets logged on roads. In the past one week, several people met with accidents while one of them is battling for life in the nearby Narayana Hrudhayalaya Hospital.

Peddiraju, a resident of Suraram, thanking his stars for surviving a rough terrain, points out that he was travelling to Gandimaisamma on his bike towards his work place. On seeing a tentatively deep pothole, he tried to divert but fell down. Within a fraction of few seconds an RTC bus passed by a few inches from his head which could have crushed his skull.

Like thousands of those residing in the adjoining localities, he hopes the officials will wake up from their five-year slumber and render something meaningful before it is too late. Solomon, a resident of Sai Baba Nagar, accused the officials of turning a deaf ear to his repeated pleas. Rather than refurbish the damaged roads, the officials actually dump debris of buildings, industrial waste and unusable sand to fill the potholes. If it rains, the scene becomes nauseating and unfit for travel.

An official from Public Works Department (PWD), who did not want to be named, explained that a highway was being laid from Outer Ring Road on Medak route to Balanagar Junction covering over 25 Kilometers. He has sought the people to bear with the traffic and road hazards till the new road is built.

People are already wondering whether they have to wait for the announcement of the GHMC elections, which could take the issue forward and brig respite from the harrowing road nightmare. They contend that even those colonies that do not come under the Corporation jurisdiction could also breathe easy once the dates are announced. Perhaps, civic sense will dawn on the administrators at least than, reasons Anuradha, a housewife staying in the area.

By:Blesson Abraham