Mayhem at RK Puram flyover hits traffic

HYDERABAD: It is free for all at the Ramakrishna Puram Flyover junction, covering the Army Public School and Trimulgherry. Chaos and street fightings are the order of the day.  Unfortunately, this is one of the busiest routes, connecting  Cherlapalli, ECIL, Kapra, Sainikpuri, Neredmet and Secunderabad. Lakhs of vehicles ply on the busy road and their volume increases during the peak hours. With the traffic rules gone for a toss, accidents mark the day with no end in sight.

To add insult to the injury, there is a bus stop at the end of the flyover. When an RTC stops, the traffic comes to a grinding halt because of the narrow road. Though the portion of the road connecting Neredmet X Road and Ramakrishna Puram flyover is broad, the road leading to the Army Public School and Trimulgherry is quite narrow. Heavy vehicles like buses and lorries have to negotiate their way to pass by.

Locals said the situation will further worsen with the Army removing the compound wall near the canteen. The defence unit is building a new wall, almost touching the existing road. This will make the road narrow further. While the flyover falls under GHMC jurisdiction, the area, starting from the bus stop, comes under the Secunderabad Can-tonment Board (SCB). This has forced the authorities to pass the buck.

Vijay Dabade, a retired bank employee who stays in Ramakrishna Puram, has appealed to the concerned authorities to shift the bus stop and to widen the road. He has also asked them to construct slip roads under the flyover to make the traffic smooth and to avoid commotion and accidents. Former vice-president of SCB V.Jayaprakash has asked the army, Cantonment Board and the GHMC to find a solution to this vexed issue as it will bring relief to lakhs of commuters plying on Ramakrishna Puram stretch. The army should co-operate instead of flexing its muscles,  he noted.

No end in sight for traffic snarls at RK Puram:

Officials are unable to solve the traffic chaos at RK Puram junction despite repeated attempts. According to A. Venkataiah, Malkaj-giri traffic inspector, the police tried to remove the U-turn on an experimental basis. However, the locals are up in arms against this. “Now, the vehicles coming from Shakti Nagar, Asha Nagar, Gandhi Nagar take a right turn at the junction to head towards the Army Public School and Trimulgherry.

If the road is closed they will have to use the flyover and then will have to take a U-turn near Neredmet and again will have to pass through the flyover to reach Trimulgherry. So, things did not work out,” he said. “The police are planning to rope in an expert to find a solution,” he said. Malcolm Wolfe, president of Roadkraft  which focuses on road safety, said, “Several designs and plans were submitted. But none of them got the green signal.”