Residents of Manikonda in Hyderabad are a worried lot, as the infamous 100-meter stretch on Pipeline Road at Radial Road No 5, is yet to be laid.
The stretch has been a commuter's nightmare for the last five years, with rains turning it into a slush-filled dirt track, causing two-wheelers to slip and making it difficult to walk.
At present, the road is buried under a layer of stones that authorities have left, for the commuters to flatten out.
"The stones have been there for a week. I saw many two-wheelers slipping and riders injuring themselves. However, they have no choice but to take this road, as the other route is very long," says a local.
Road expansion and construction has been going on for several years now, with authorities overshooting the deadline multiple times.
In 2012, 33 radial roads from the Outer Ring Road (ORR) to the Inner Ring Road were identified in Hyderabad, based on the traffic flow, and a decision was taken to widen them.
The project comes under the purview of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA).
According to reports, the HMDA bears 30% of the cost, while R&B and municipal administration and urban development departments contribute 25% and 10% respectively.
The area surrounding the radial road in question, has witnessed a population explosion over the past decade and is now home to several techies who work in the Cyberabad side of the city.
According to an online petition that was started to repair the road, "There were numerous cases of accidents and people suffering from trauma and backaches. Parents are afraid to send their kids out on bicycle or fear that they will be hit by a vehicle when they are walking, as there is no pavement."
It was also further down this road that the contractor assigned, did not bother to shift the electric poles, while expanding the road.
While some of the poles have been shifted, a few still remain.
All this, despite multiple visits by HMDA commissioner T Chiranjeevulu to the spot.
During a visit to the area in August this year, Chiranjeevulu told the local media, "The radial road's total length is 5.5 km and we are looking at road work in 1.3 km. We have suspended the contractor as he delayed the work. There was also some delay from our side because of land acquisition issues. However, we will clear that within 10 to 15 days."
"This work should have been completed earlier but has resulted in a lot of trouble for local residents. We are also troubled by it. It has happened purely due to the contractor's negligence," he admitted.
"We are looking at September 10 as the deadline," he added.
However, almost two months past the deadline, the work is yet to be completed.
A contractor overseeing the work at the spot told TNM that the work would be completed within the next 10 days.
"There were delays, but now almost everything is done. The work should be completed in a little over a week," he said.