Hyderabad: Risky, dark stretches in IT corridor, other roads

Hyderabad: Lack of policemen on the roads, lack of street lights and speeding by motorists raise the number of accidents in the IT corridor on an almost monthly basis.

Compared to other traffic police stations and Law & Order divisions in Cyberabad and Rachakonda, more accidents are taking place in the IT corridor. The old Bombay Highway from Raidurgam to Gachibowli, UoH to Municipal office, Kondapur to Madhapur and Gachibowli to Kondapur roads are death traps for motorists during weekends and night hours.

January this year registered about 13.41 per cent of the number of accidents that occurred in all of 2016. In January 2016, the IT corridor under three traffic police stations (Madhapur, Miyapur and Kukatpally) recorded 44 accidents killing four motorists died and injuring 40. In January 2017, around 124 accidents were registered; 23 people died and 100 were injured.

Last year, traffic police installed dividers on all major roads and accident-prone areas and wrote a series of letters to GHMC and national highway authority to install streetlights. It has had little effect as most of the roads have no lights and the condition of the roads in some places is poor.

After speed breakers were removed near the University of Hyderabad main gate on the old Bombay highway and at the second gate, the number of accidents here increased. Recently, an employee of the university was hit by a lorry as she was coming to the campus on her moped.

On the night of February 17, two 23-year-old techies, Aditi and Prasanna, met with an accident at Gachibowli as they were returning from their night shift at around 2.15 am. Aditi died and Prasanna was badly injured. An ex-serviceman, Mr Devadanam, lost his life when a car hit him at the same location.

Kukatpally Traffic ACP Pagadala Ashok said that they have written letters to the GHMC and Highway authorities to repair the central lighting system and streetlamps. “We have requested the GHMC to repair the roads,” he said.