Hyderabad: The Conference of Parties 11 - Convention on Biological Diversity, perhaps the biggest ever conference that the city will host, is just three weeks away but the man on the street isn’t happy. Not even at the sight of the Rs 180 crore “beautification works” underway in different parts of the city. The reason: the works have simply made life miserable for a good number of commuters and many do not see any rationale behind splurging money on “temporary measures.”
The potholes that keep popping up after every shower have turned many into cynics. “One can only hope that this recarpeted road will last till the conference concludes,” said Nitin, a commuter caught in a traffic jam at Gachibowli. Notwithstanding the claims of officials, the situation on the ground is not encouraging. Potholes still remain an integral part of the roads leading to Hitex, the venue of the conference beginning Oct 1.
The badly affected ones are near the Mahavir Hospital near Masab Tank, Punjagutta, NMDC, road number 2 Banjara Hills and near Pedamma temple in Jubilee Hills. Moreover, the re-laying of median on the Tolichowki-Gachibowli road has made traffic jams just worse than ever. “I start at least 30 minutes early every morning to reach office on time. It is horrible to wait especially to just get past the Cyberabad Police Commissionerate area,” fumed Sajit Kumar, an IT employee.
Of the 22 road corridors identified for repair and beautification by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), the works are underway across the entire 125-km stretch. According to officials, about 50% works are at the tender stage, 25% at the preparatory stage and the rest 25% almost complete. When contacted, K Suresh Kumar, chief engineer, GHMC, said, “weather has been playing spoilsport but by September 10, we want to close all the civil works and rest of the final works would be done right away.” According to the latest figures, the civic body is spending around Rs 180 cr on beautification of the city.
The activities taken up include, surface renewal of tarred roads, remoulding of storm water drains, improvement of sidewalks, improvement of modern lighting, line marking, junction improvement and signage, development of greenery, improvement of traffic signals, clock towers, fountains etc. Apart from that, murals and sculptures on roadside are being carried out with the help of sponsors.
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