Telangana: Bad roads prove costly, lead to wastage of fuel

Hyderabad: A research by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI) has found that driving a car on a bad road is more expensive than driving it on a smooth road. Preliminary estimates put the fuel wastage at Rs 960 crore a day in India.

CSIR-CRRI which started the study in May, released its preliminary findings last week, involving a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) with a mileage of 10-12 km/litre. Small cars and loaded and empty trucks will also be tested as part of this study, in which a three-tier grading system will be used to assess road conditions in which the traffic congestion will also be a parameter.

Binu Mohan, a city resident, said, “The research is a true fact if the increased fuel bills are any indication. My fuel bill has increased from Rs 3,600 to Rs 4,200 a month.”

Parinita Das, another commuter, said, “Yesterday, I went to Secunderabad and it forced me to spent more on the fuel due to traffic blocks.”

“Our monthly budget for fuel has got over in one week  as we are crawling on the poor roads in city due to traffic jams and bumpy roads. It takes 1 hour 10 minutes for crossing 8 km, said Ramanjeet Singh, another commuter.

Driving on poor roads is burning a big hole in commuters’ pocket in terms of fuel as well as health, said city doctors and residents. On an average 30 to 40 patients are visiting us on a daily basis because of back problems. Bad roads are causing problems like slip discs and pains, particularly for office-goers, said Dr Sreekanth Reddy a neuro spine surgeon.

Dr Sreekanth Reddy added: “Patients are spending around Rs 2,000 to 3,000 for routine consultation and for an MRI scan they have to spend around Rs 10,000. Main patients are youths. Some visit us with neck and back issues. Long drives on poor roads are one of the main reasons. Commuters stay more than 20 minutes on bad roads.”

Vinod Kumar, a traffic expert from Hyderabad, said, “Health of drivers and vehicles are at high risk due to the bad roads in the city.”