High Court order on streetlights falls on deaf HMDA ears
Dark ORR service roads pose threat to commuters.
Hyderabad: Some officials of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority are using a petition being heard by the High Court to effectively ignore orders on pedestrian and motorists safety on the service roads leading to the Outer Ring Road
The High Court had instructed the HMDA to install streetlights on service roads leading to the Outer Ring Road on the city’s outskirts. The order was issued on October 21 considering commuter safety and to minimise accidents on the service roads.
Asked about the streetlights, an official claimed that though the judges had pronounced the order, the HMDA was yet to receive written orders from the court.
However, official sources said that the court order pertaining to streetlights had reached the municipal authority on Friday, but officials were yet to see it.
While this is so, the HMDA is sitting on another safety notification, this time from the Cyberabad police. Citing the risk posed to two-wheeler riders on the ORR service roads, the Cyberabad police after conducting a survey, had instructed HMDA to install LED lights from Kokapet to Financial District on priority. It specifically informed the municipal authority to install LED lights at an underpass near Vertex Panache Apartments, considering the safety of women. It also has asked the HMDA to construct scientific speed-breakers to restrict the speed of four wheelers. The Cyberabad police asked the HMDA to have amber flash lighting at Kokapet rotary and near vehicle underpass to caution motorists.
The HMDA has been avoiding taking any action on the police notification, claiming that the issue pertaining to lighting on central medians on the ORR was pending with the High Court. The two issues are not related, sources said, but the HMDA had muddied the situation to make it appear that the matter was still in court. This would justify their inaction. When questioned, an official ignored the Cyberabad police notification completely, and said the municipal authority would float fresh tenders next week after receiving the court orders.