Bridge along Musi a threat: Activists
The GHMC has given the project to the company to design the project
By : coreena suares
Update: 2015-10-19 05:24 GMT
Hyderabad: The 42-km bridge being planned along the Musi, between Gandipet and the Vijayawada-Warangal link road, could have grave consequences for the river, environmentalists said.
According to CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s ambitious plan, the 42-km six-land bridge will have 40 intersections along the course of the river.
A team from the China-based Anju Infrastructure Company along with GHMC commissioner Somesh Kumar conducted an aerial survey of the river on October 16 to chart the course of the six-lane bridge.
The GHMC has given the project to the company to design the project. Experts said that if the river bed was turned into a concrete base while laying the road, it could cause inundation during the rains. The Musi is the only outlet for the city’s water, they said.
Geo-ecologist and urban planning expert Sai Basker Reddy, said, “There would be fewer issues if it was a bridge crossing the river but this is a 42-km road running on the river bed. Firstly, it will cause shrinkage of river bed and the planned junctions will occupy more space. Finally, once the road is constructed, it would attract commercial users.”
Mr Bhaskar Reddy said that there are occupations all along the river, which has not been addressed. “The bridge would lead to inundation. Besides, the history of the river will be lost,” he said.
“A six-lane road is being proposed which means it will be an expressway with a lot of construction. The concrete will cover the river, said environmentalist H. Ramesh. Instead, he said, the need of the hour was to set up two more sewage treatment plants to treat the water.
Asked about the project, a GHMC engineering wing official said that once the detailed project report is submitted by the company, all doubts would be cleared. He said an aerial survey would be conducted in November, and all issues would be placed before the CM.
Experts cite S. korean example
Experts in Hyderabad cite the example of a similar project in Seoul, South Korea. After suffering the consequences of concretising the Cheonggyecheon for several decades, the government decided to break it up and create a public utility space by reviving the stream.
The 8.4 km Cheonggyecheon stream flows west to east through downtown Seoul, and finally empties into the Han River. During the presidency of Park Chung-hee, the Cheonggyecheon was covered with concrete for roads. In 1968, an elevated highway was built over it.
The 5.6-km 16-m elevated highway was completed in 1976. The area was showcased as a successful example of industrialisation and modernisation of South Korea.
However, both sides of the stream came to be occupied by shanties and became an eyesore. In 2003, the city of Seoul decided to restore the Cheonggyecheon.
Amid much criticism, the expressway was dismantled and an enormous quantity of water was released into the stream to revive it. Today, it has turned into a modern public recreation space.