Metro rail scars city roads

We need mass transit systems. There is no denying that.  Our planners should have thought of wider roads, subways and such mass transportation modes after Andhra Pradesh was created. Instead what did we do? We let things be. The roads we had were what we had inherited from the Nizam's Dominion.

 Once governments woke up to the need for Metro Rail and the construction is now       proceeding apace, as is evident everywhere. After Metro Rail, Hyderabad is going to wear a more beautiful look, say many. The initial hiccups are there for us to see and experience—metro rail construction has brought the city to a standstill in many places and is creating traffic snarls all over the city. 

We always tend to wonder as to why the other countries are moving at a faster clip and sometimes speculate on the reasons why we seem to be lagging behind.

Yes, there's no denying the fact that Metro Rail work is creating traffic snarls everywhere. The government has not made it any easier for the Metro Rail authorities. Over the years, the investment in modernizing traffic facilities has been negligible.  Plus, there's a crying need to build overpasses and create more lanes in the streets.

In fact, the irrational distribution and proper driving discipline makes the traffic situation worse, by the hour. Government offices, shops, offices of private establishments, universities and hospitals, not to speak of malls, restaurants and other places located in the heart of the city tend to attract a heavy flow of people in the rush hour.

As it is, there are no footpaths to most roads in Hyderabad in that they have been taken over by vendors, hawkers, shops and in many cases by residents in residential areas, but that again is a complete failure of the civic authorities to enforce basic laws.

It is very evident that Hyderabad roads are not very clean and tidy unlike cities like Chandigarh or Bangalore, for example. 

Added to all this is the poor maintenance of  roads  which is really pathetic to put it mildly and it is against this backdrop that Metro Rail work has made it even more difficult for everyday 

“Cleaning the roads is easier than cleaning the roads inside the metrorail areas” says Vijaya at GHMC worker.

“It’s like doing two jobs and we are paid less for the work we do” says Rajani, a worker at GHMC.

The duration of the metro rail construction in Hyderabad is comparatively slower than Bangalore and Chennai metro railways.

All the 3 cities Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai got their permissions at relatively the same  time but there are major hurdles  which made  the metro  construction,  a  slow  developmental process in our  city.  For instance, the  Telangana agitations erupted over and over again creating a major hurdle for Metro rail construction. The other major drawback has been a weak state government as we have not had an effective leader since the tragic demise of Dr. YSR in September 2009, to oversee project.

Let's hope that the government expedites the Metro Rail work and the impediments we now see, get cleared soon making our day to day lives simpler. In the interim, we may have to put up with some inconvenience in the larger interest of society. Grin and bear it for some time, let's tell ourselves.

Sakshipost