Hyderabad Metro Rail: Start Metro, tells group

Hyderabad: Civic bodies including residential colonies and motorists’ association have petitioned Hyderabad Metro Rail managing director N.V.S. Reddy that the completed portions of the Metro Rail must be started so that people can benefit from the project.

Mr Srinivas Rao, general secretary of Hyderabad Zindabad, said, “Two stretches from Nagole to Mettuguda and Miyapur to SR Nagar are ready. Why don’t they start the service so that it helps ease traffic? That this ready service isn’t used is making people angry.”

The organisation gave a petition on the matter to Mr Reddy, who said HMR will put the petition before the state government which is the deciding authority for starting the services.

The station committees which were formed from Nagole to Mettuguda by the Metro Rail Travellers Association held three to four meetings but it was stopped when it was decided not to operate the services in early January.

A senior member of the association said. “Station committees were formed so that schoolchildren, senior citizens and physically-challenged people could be guided to use the service. As the Metro Rail services didn’t start, people lost interest.”

Resident welfare associations from Tarnaka, Uppal and Nagole want the service to run on these sections. Mr Venkat Subramanyam, a software engineer, said the ready structures were creating a lot of irritation in the people as they posed obstacles to movement of vehicles on the road. “Starting the services will make people give up this negative view.” he said.

With walking area completely taken away by the extension of the road, people are using either two-wheelers or auto rickshaws for short distances. If they have an alternative they would be willing to look forward to it, a resident said.