Hyderabad: “I did not see any road but had to brave potholes at every stretch,” was the reaction of a biker on being asked about his experiences on the city roads.
He is not off-the-mark as the city roads can only boast of potholes and gravels, which explain the frequency of accidents and two-wheelers skidding on the roads every other day.
Alas, despite the fatalities, the civic authorities remain mute spectators and do precious little to make amends. They don’t care for the petitions submitted by the exasperated people and associations calling for better roads.
Ironically, barring those frequented by the VVIPs, most of the roads are crying for urgent repairs. Of the 9,013 km that the GHMC is spread over, 6,167 km have CC roads while BT roads make for 2,846 km.
The authorities are playing with the lives of the people. Thursday’s tragic incident at Bachupally where an eight-year-old school girl was crushed under the wheels of a van, when she fell down from the bike on which she was travelling as the road was in shambles, is a grim reminder of the fatal attractions that the city roads have become; and a reflection of the callousness of officials.
Vanga Madhusudhan Reddy, Champapet’s BJP corporator, said “we have given a representation to the GHMC commissioner seeking immediate repair of all the damaged roads in the city to which he agreed. We cautioned him against any other incident like in Bachupally, where a second class girl lost her life because of the bad road.”
He added “following rains, roads in Champapet, LB Nagar and their surroundings are a mess. The civic authorities should wake up and take preventive measures.”
Kondabolu Yeshwanth, an engineering graduate from Bhavani Nagar, said, “Starting from Uppal to Narapally, we find only travel on potholes. The situation has worsened because of the rain.”
Mohammed Raouf, resident of Kalapatter, said, “I travel up to the CTC complex in Secunderabad every day. The roads are so bad that the bike ride makes for one hell of a journey. Added to that is the traffic congestion caused by the deplorable condition of roads.”
Narsingh, a resident of Sikh Village, said “the roads are bad. There are several potholes and gravel. We often see people falling from bikes that skid.”
On August 1, I had a nightmarish experience at Bahadurpura crossroads, a stretch which is riddled with several potholes. As it was raining and the road was waterlogged, my motorbike fell on one of them. I fell and sustained injuries, not to mention that I was drenched in sewage junk.
Indraneel Sen
On Wednesday, I experienced a harrowing incident on my scooter on the Entrenchment road near West Marredpally. I noticed a huge pothole suddenly. I managed to swerve the vehicle and narrowly avoided falling into it. The gravity of the situation hit me when I saw a military truck fast approaching from behind. I shudder to think of what could have happened if I had fallen in that pothole. It is disheartening to see that the authorities remain oblivious of the dangers.
Anupama Milli
The giant potholed St Francis Road in Regimental Bazaar in Secunderabad is the worst place to travel in the city. After last week’s heavy rain, the condition of the road has further deteriorated. I had a harrowing experience while on my way to drop my daughter off at school. The-half-a-kilometre potholed stretch has over half-a-dozen schools. It poses a grave threat to commuters, especially students. The unregulated traffic adds to the woes of students. It is high time the GHMC takes up repairs on a war-footing lest the potholed roads turn death traps.
Md Khalid Ahmed
I experienced a dreadful incident when I almost fell off my bike due to a huge crater, which was not visible due to heavy rain. Same is the case with every lane and bylane in the city. Almost every thoroughfare is damaged and there is a pothole for every 50 metres. One can only blame shoddy execution of works, inattentive authorities and an abysmal administration.
Sreenivas Janagama
Apparently, the road works (patchwork) done in Amberpet was so shoddy that the recent rains have laid bare several potholes in the area. Driving here is fraught with risk. Further, the road condition takes a toll on the driver's vehicle. The road is often clogged with traffic and I am forced to take longer routes to avoid that stretch.
Sumaya Ahmed
I experienced a harrowing incident near Diamond point. The road was recarpeted recently but due to incessant rain, craters have developed. There is a small caved-in patch in the middle of the road My vehicle skidded on the road due to some gravel strewn around that I could not notice because it was raining heavily. Luckily, I was gentle on the throttle so I only ended up with minor injuries. I raised the issue on Twitter but till date neither the sewage problem nor the potholes have been rectified.
Victor Rao
