Relief for commuters as GHMC to reopen Begumpet-Rasoolpura stretch

Bringing huge relief to commuters traveling from Secunderabad towards Begumpet, the road will be reopened on Friday, October 28, six months after it was closed. The new stretch will be inaugurated by Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivas Rao. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) had closed the stretch of road near Rasoolpura in a bid to remodel the bridge of the Picket nala, as part of the Strategic Nala Development Programme (SNDP) to avoid flooding. The road closure had caused great inconvenience to the commuters, who were forced to take a detour from the arterial road into a narrow lane near Wesley Degree College, which led to huge traffic jams.

The works began in April and were supposed to be completed within 45 days, however this was delayed due to heavy rains, the GHMC said. A ground report by TNM in July on this issue revealed that the metro pillars on the road and the communication gap between several departments like telecommunications, water and sewage etc, also contributed to the delay.

“The reconstruction of the bridge over Picket Nala will help the Secunderabad Cantonment Board to provide relief to flood-prone areas and prevent loss of life and



property. Around 100 colonies of Secunderabad Cantonment Board will be benefited. Mainly, some areas of Anna Nagar Basti & Rasulpura, BHEL Colony, ICRISAT Colony, Saujanya Colony, Boyn Pally will be relieved. About 8000 households will get relief,” the GHMC said in a press release on Thursday.

On the occasion of the reopening of the road, GHMC Mayor Gadwal Vijaya Lakshmi said that the government has taken measures to complete the revamping work quickly, to solve the flooding problem. “Although all precautions were taken to complete the work on a war footing within the stipulated time, the work could not be completed on time due to incessant heavy rains,” she said. This would help avoid inundation in low-lying areas even during rains. 

The revamping of the storm drains are being carried out under the Strategic Road Development Programme (SRDP). In the first phase of SRDP, 60 construction works have been carried out at an estimated cost of Rs 985 crores. In the project, the government has prioritized  flood-affected areas. “In the first phase of these areas, 77.56 km long canal works were undertaken by including GHMC and surrounding municipalities,” GHMC said.