Ivanka Trump's visit may hit road project in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The visit of US President’s daughter Ivanka for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at HiTec City may delay the Rs 50-crore project to white-top the ISB road in financial district.

While the summit would be held 4 km away from the under construction road, it is being speculated that the government doesn’t want to put up a poor show when delegates visit the software park at Nanakramguda.

Work is underway to white-top three kilometres of the six-km stretch and has been delayed by three months.

Senior traffic police officials said that work on the stretch would be halted in the last week of August and work would not be taken up on the other half of the road. “With the monsoon and GES around the corner it has been decided that work on the other half would commence only after a while,” said Traffic, DCP, A.R. Srinivas.

Mr Vinod Kumar, TS Industrial Infrastructure Corporation zonal manager, said the delay had nothing to do with the GES. “The contractor has been doing a haphazard job and we don’t want the construction to be affected by rain. Unless the work is completely done on one half, we wouldn’t proceed,” he said.

Officials have promised to deliver the three-km white-topped stretch by August 31. Drainage work alongside the road is slated to take more time.

The news has been received with mixed emotions by road users. “It is a good decision as we will get the time to improve alternative routes before resuming work. Public pressure has made an impact,” said Mr Uma Mahesh, a commuter.

“White topping was going to be the highlight of the GES. But from the very start the project was poorly planned, without public participation. Now it has been proved that without developing alternative routes nothing can be done,” said Mr Ramanjeet Singh.