To beat heavy traffic during rains, Hyderabad IT company heads form three-tier plan

In a bid to end the traffic problem persisting during heavy rains and particularly affecting the IT areas of Gachibowli, Madhapur and Hitec City, the civic body Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association (HYSEA) together have unveiled a plan asking the IT employees to volunteer and remain in office from 4 pm to 6 pm if there’s a downpour.

The GHMC, HYSEA and Cyberabad police have chalked out a three-tier plan to reduce traffic jam. According to the plan, the IT company heads have formed a ‘core team’ that would be coordinating with the GHMC and Cyberabad police. This core team will get rain forecast updates along with the protocols to be followed from the GHMC. 

HYSEA president Murali Bollu, explaining the process said, “The first notification of rainfall warning will be sent 24 hours before to the facilities’ management heads so that they can plan their activities accordingly. The second notification will reach the IT employees from the management heads two hours before the rains. The management will communicate to them via emails and apps. The third notification will come when it starts raining. In this communication, the GHMC and Cyberabad will issue a traffic advisory with routes which should be avoided.”

Appealing the employees, he said, “We ask every employee to consider the advisory on a voluntary basis and make voluntary decision to stay back at the office instead of being stuck in traffic.”

He also asked the management heads to make wise decisions with regard to allowing company buses on roads during rains, “The facilities heads are advised to make decisions on how many buses they should allow on roads and how many buses to be held back.”

According to HYSEA, employment in the IT industry increased from 2.5 lakh to 5.5 lakh and the number of vehicles has tripled. 

Recently, on June 21 evening, several commuters were caught in a heavy traffic jam, which lasted for hours in IT areas such as Madhapur, Hitec City and Gachibowli. The Biodiversity Junction in Gachibowli was inundated with water, making it impossible for the two-wheelers to ride through. Irked, the netizens lashed out at the GHMC for their unpreparedness to tackle the monsoon. 

For this, the GHMC and Cyberabad police had issued an advisory asking commuters to avoid certain roads when it rains. However, the traffic problem remains unresolved. 

Reacting to the appeal, Praveen Chandrahas, an IT employee and member of Forum of IT Professionals, said, “Ideally, the GHMC should have developed an infrastructure to eliminate the problems of a traffic jam when it rains. Since they admit that the city roads cannot handle more than 2 cm of rainfall, I think all the companies together should adopt a standard-time approach. For instance, there should be a standard timing between 12 am and 12 pm for all the IT employees, though this will affect the family lives of employees,” he said.