Hyderabad: Long traffic slowdowns have become a major problem for motorists who are Old City bound. With Ramzan shopping reaching its peak, the number of vehicles has increased, resulting in huge traffic jams on all arterial roads from the afternoon till late at night.
Mr Syed Nisaruddin, a resident of Qazipura, said that of the three routes to reach the other side of Charminar, only one is open for traffic. The Charminar road is closed for pedestrianisation project. The other alternative, the Chowmahalla Road, is taken over by hawkers and vendors.
“Only the Mir Alam Mandi road is open for traffic. It takes about half-an-hour to travel 2 km. At other times, it takes five to seven minutes,” Mr Nisaruddin said.
Mr S. Rajendar, a resident of Aliabad, said the problem starts right from Nayapul Bridge which is packed to the brim during the evenings.
“Bumper to bumper traffic is witnessed on the bridge and using it to reach Madina Building or even the Salarjung Museum is a nightmarish experience. The situation is worse between 7 pm and 9 pm with even TSRTC buses plying on the stretch,” he said.
Traffic police says that all efforts have been made to streamline the traffic flow. The traffic has almost doubled on select roads due to Ramzan.
“We have deployed personnel in all the areas after drafting them from other zones of the city. There are about 100 traffic policemen deployed near Charminar and surrounding areas to attend to traffic issues. With such a heavy flow of vehicles, it is bit difficult as the roads are narrow,” said a senior official of traffic.
