Road to Mantralayam to get 110-km longer

Hyderabad: The bridge on river Krishna, between Maganoor in Mahbubnagar district and Raichur in Karnataka, will be closed for at least 40 days by the Karnataka government for repairs.

The bridge closure will hit routes from Mahabubnagar, Ranga Reddy and Hyderabad districts in Telangana along with traffic from Raichur, Chitradurga and Yadgir districts of Karnataka. For the past four months, Karnataka officials have been studying the damaged bridge, which was constructed during the Nizam’s regime.

Pilgrims to Mantralayam take the road via Mahbubnagar, Maktal, Maganoor and Raichur, totalling 223 km. Pilgrims must now use the Kurnool road, which is 340 km. Due to the closure of this bridge, vehicles coming from Raichur must now take diversion at Chitradurga Highway. Similarly, traffic from Raichur to Yadgir will have to take a diversion from Kalmala, Devadurga and Hattigudur villages.

Traffic from Hyderabad, Shamshabad, and Mahbubnagar to Raichur now has to take a diversion from Atmakur and Gadwal. Similarly, traffic from these localities to Raichur can take a diversion from Kothakota.

RTC buses diverted:

RTC buses will be diverted on the Mahbubnagar-Raichur route due to repairs being taken up on the 70-year-old bridge on the Krishna. About 100 RTC buses from TS cross this bridge, apart from thousands of other vehicles every day. A TS roads and buildings officer said the state government had not been intimated. “We will get in touch with Karnataka. A lot of planning is needed as traffic has to be diverted,” an official said.