Hyderabad: ORR service roads turn dangerous with dust

Hyderabad: The ongoing work to widen the service roads of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) is posing a grave threat to motorists. Owing to fast-paced development activities, especially across IT corridors, and constant movement of trucks carrying construction material, have severely damaged roads on the stretch.

Many accidents have occurred because of vehicles skidding on the fine sand that is getting deposited by movements of trucks.

Rapid development, unusually high growth of myriad centres, national and international IT and ITES offices that are coming up around Nanakramguda, Narsingi, Kokapet, Kollur, Tellapur, Madhapur, Financial District, TSPA and other areas have led to clogging of service roads during peak hours.

To address the traffic issues and keeping the future requirements in these areas, Hyderabad Growth Corridor Limited (HGCL), a wing of HMDA, is expanding the two-lane service roads to four-lanes on either side of the ORR from Nanakramguda to Telangana State Police Academy (7.5 km) and Narsingi to Kollur (14.5 km) from 7.50 metres to 15 metres at a cost of Rs 300 crore.

Of the overall cost of Rs 387 crore, HGCL is over-laying bitumen road from Gachibowli to Shamshabad of the ORR at a cost of Rs 87 crore.

However, the work has become nightmarish for commuters travelling on the Kollur, Patancheru, TSPA, Kokapet and other stretches.

K. Amarnath Reddy, a techie who takes the service road at Kollur, said that the clouds of dust caused by heavy vehicles obstructs vision. He said that during peak hours, the narrow two-lane road is subject to huge traffic snarls. 

J. Santosh Kumar, another regular commuter, said that fine soil and gravel were making the service roads slippery. At least 10 unreported accidents are happening on a daily basis.

Responding to the same, a senior HMDA official said that the commuters have been bearing the inconvenience for over two months. He said that in order to avoid minor road accidents, HMDA would be closing service roads on some stretches. However, he said, widening, re-carpeting and underground utility works cannot be completed before next February.