No digging up of cement roads, says KT Rama Rao

Hyderabad: Underground ducts will have to be dug on all roads set to be white-topped, minister K.T. Rama Rao said on Saturday.

The duct will accommodate sewerage, water pipelines and electronic cables. No white-topped road will be dug up, he said. So far, white-topping has only been done at Banjara Hills.

The minister who held a meet with cement manufactures, said, “The government initially planned for 5,000 km of white topped roads across greater Hyderabad. The city’s entire network is 9,099 km. This is a five-year plan for the city. On experimental basis, the cement manufacturers laid a white topped road at Banjara hills road number 10 which has been received well by commuters and GHMC. Following this the state government planned to expand it. However cement manufacturers and contractors quoted high price. After a detailed discussion now the manufacturer is willing to reduce the cost."

The GHMC has been asked to prepare a detailed report of the road network before the works begin on the ducts to accommodate cabling and electronic wires so that the roads are not dug up. The life of these roads will be 25 years and its defect viability period will be of 15 years, which means that for 15 years it is the duty of the contractor to maintain the stretch in case of damage.

“This year over 1,000 km in greater Hyderabad will be white-topped. Once the 5,000 km of white topping is completed, Telangana will have the largest white topped-connectivity in the country,” the minister said.