Hyderabad: A city landscape dotted with multiple skyscrapers has become a measure of development in recent times. However, people living in a part of Hyderabad shudder over the day when tens of high-rise buildings, which are under-construction, are ready for occupation.
The people living in the eight-km-long stretch between Miyapur and Pragathinagar via Bachupally fear for a future of traffic congestion, shortage of drinking water and overload on the sewerage network downgrade their standard of life.
Over 50 high-rise projects with 20 floors are in various stages of construction on this stretch.
Hyderabad is considered the most favourite place for builders as it is the only city in the country that does not limit the vertical expansion or Floor Space Index (FSI). The average FSI in the country is 2.5, while in Hyderabad it is between 9 to 13.
In simple language, FSI means the maximum floor space that a builder is allowed to build. For example, if a builder has a one lakh square feet of land anywhere else in India, he could build a floor space of 2.5 lakh square feet at maximum.
In Hyderabad, however, the builder could build unlimited floor space as there is no FSI depending on the size of the plot and the road abutting it.
The FSI limit was removed in 2006 by Y.S. Rajashekhar Reddy-led Congress government to encourage faster development of the city, which after nearly 20 years changed the landscape of many areas. This private builder-led real estate development, nevertheless, outpaced the infrastructural development by the government, causing concern among people.
“Our biggest fear is traffic congestion,” said a techie living in Bachupally. “The road connecting Pragathinagar and Kukatpally is already congested. It takes around 40 minutes to reach Kukatpally, which is located two km from Pragathinagar during the peak hours.”
The road connecting Miyapur to Pragathinagar via Bachupally is 100 feet wide, but the residents fear more traffic jams when high-rise buildings are occupied in future.
Officials of the Miyapur traffic police said that the passenger car unit (PCU) or the impact of vehicular traffic on a road was not assessed for the Miyapur-Pragatinagar till date.
“It's not only traffic that we are worried about. We also worry about pollution and poor living conditions in our areas once all these high-rises are occupied," said Sai Teja, a techie, who stays near Pragthinagar Kaman.
When a greater number of people live in their areas, people fear that it would lead to the shortage of groundwater and increase the sewage load that the existing pipelines could not bear, leading to unhealthy living conditions.
Another set of people, who shifted to these areas for a peaceful life away for the hustle bustle of the central business areas a decade back, are scared of confronting the same chaotic life once again.
"We used to stay near Yousufguda and my parents shifted to Sai Nagar because of traffic congestion. Our idea was to stay away from a densely-populated place but I am assuming that these high rise buildings will make this area extremely congested, leading to traffic snarls and sewage issues," said an IT employee, who stays at Sai Nagar in Pragathinagar.
Officials, however, sought to allay fears of people about infrastructural shortages. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) told Deccan Chronicle that infrastructure is being developed in these areas.
“A flyover is being built at Bachupally which will connect the Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University in the same area to ease traffic,” said an official of the municipal development and urban development department.
A GHMC official rejected the charge of giving building permits for high-rises without developing infrastructure to meet the future demands of the area’s growing population. “We give priority to only those high-rise projects which are accompanied by traffic assessment of empaneled agencies.”
HMWS&SB managing director K Ashok Reddy said trunk lines are being laid to strengthen the sewage network in peripheral areas, while another HMWS&SB official said that water reservoirs are also constructed to ensure proper water supply in these areas.
“The construction of water reservoirs has been completed. By the time these high-rise buildings are occupied, the works related to developing an additional water pipeline network will also be completed,” he said.
Skyscrapers in densely populated areas worry people
Nabinder Bommala I DC
Hyderabad: With skyscrapers coming up in the central part of Hyderabad, which has little space for developing matching infrastructure, residents worry about congestion and poor civic amenities once the high-rise buildings are occupied.
Abids, Errum Manzil and Jubilee Hills are some of the places where the skyscrapers are coming up.
While the number of floors for the buildings coming up in Erram Manzil and Jubilee Hills is in the range of eight and 20, an under-construction structure in Abids has 40 floors.
Earlier, the building rules mandated that a structure in Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills must not exceed 10 metres or G+two floors as the area was considered as a ‘sensitive seismic zone’.
The previous BRS government removed the height restrictions in Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills.
Many residents, who are presently staying in colonies located near these upcoming towers, said that the construction of high-rise buildings is feasible in the western part of the city due to ample land banks.
They wonder how the government could scale up the infrastructure to meet the demand of the newly added residents in the central areas, which are already densely populated.
Educational institutions and commercial establishments also fear traffic congestion.
“Abids is one of the oldest parts of the city, where even basic road widening is not possible. So how will authorities do justice to people who bought new houses there and those who were staying there for decades,” questioned Harish Daga, an activist from the city.
A jeweler living in Chirag Ali Lane, Abids, said that commuting woes worsen whenever public meetings are held in LB Stadium and new projects will further increase the commute time and traffic congestion.
The residents of Jubilee Hills also opined the same. Though the state government has proposed infrastructure projects around KBR park, they said that the flyovers and underpasses will not address traffic woes.
“We are already suffering due to residential roads being converted into commercial ones. Now the new towers will add more congestion,” said Sangeeta Varma, a resident of Jubilee Hills.
