Hyderabad: The north-eastern corridor of Secunderabad, which is in the middle of the city and where Kapra municipality is located, along with clusters of other colonies, has no direct public transport connectivity to many key workplaces in the city.
Most residents of the region have to depend on cabs to commute to their workplaces.
Raul Merandez, a resident who works in Hitec City, said that he had tried all alternatives and finally decided to drive his own car.
“It takes nearly two hours for me to reach my office, and I spend about Rs 15,000 a month on fuel. My company provides a cab, but it takes even longer because I am the first one to be picked up and the last to be dropped,” he said.
Merendez starts from his home by around 10.30 am to avoid traffic and reaches office around noon. He drives back from work at 11.30 pm and reaches home by 1 pm. “Metro is the only hope we have here,” he said.
“There is a possibility of metro rail coming to the area connecting it to other places in the third phase,” said Penumarti Kamesh, secretary at Armed Forces Officers Cooperative Housing Society.
“However, there are restrictions and limitations for metro in the Army area,” he said.
There are around 40 to 50 residential layouts in the Sainikpuri region and around the Kapra Lake, and many residents work in Gachibowli, Begumpet and Madhapur areas.
Some share auto-rickshaws or 12-seat Tata Wingers, while a few take cabs. Few take city buses at ECIL. City buses takes even more time, as they have to halt at every stop. “There are only a few buses and chances of getting a seat are rare. The number of buses has to be increased too,” said Pawan, a Sainikpuri resident who works in Hitec City.
“Some take MMTS trains from Neredmet, but then they have to get down at Secunderabad and take another train to go to Hitec City. The station is again far away from many workplaces in Hitec City, and so one has to depend on autos,” he said.
The commute is even worse when it rains. Commuters spend a lot of time on the road because of the traffic.
“The whole day gets wasted,” said Pawan.
“In summer, many Tata Wingers or cabs save fuel by not running AC,” he added.
Long commutes in traffic also make people giddy and tired by the time they reach their workplaces.
Also, any urgency has to wait till the commuters reach their destinations. One Mr T.S. Rao, a commuter, said he has to stop the car to relieve himself, as it takes several hours for him to reach his workplace. The situation is far worse for women commuters.
