Hyderabad is known for its bad roads and poor road safety measures. While citizens have complained about the issue for a long time, now a traffic policeman, too, is tired of the state of affairs.
P Chandrasekhar, a traffic Inspector in Begumpet, took a private contractor to task in Hyderabad’s Begumpet, for digging a road without adequate safety measures.
Chandrasekhar recently found that a 2km road behind Buddha Bhavan leading to Minister's Road has been dug up by a private contractor of Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSSPDCL), and that the dug out area had become a threat for commuters.
The pit was also causing a traffic congestion in the area, Chandrasekhar said.
“The Road does not have any barricades or warning signboards to tell people that construction is happening there. They have dug up the road and kept it like that, did not even clear the debris. This road has become prone to fatal accidents for the commuters,” said Chandrasekhar.
Following the complaint, a case has been registered under section 336 of IPC for endangering life or personal safety of others and section 283 of IPC for causing danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation.
But so far, the police have not taken any action. “We are investigating on this case. We are yet to find out who the contractor is,” said Murali Krishna, Inspector of Ramgopalpet police station.
Hyderabad has seen a spate of accidents, and the bad roads, says Chandrasekhar, have led to many of them. "Due to bad road we see accidents very frequently - not the fatal ones, but small accidents because of the bad roads," he said.
"Nearly 15% of the accidents in the city happen due to bad roads. All the departments have been digging roads across the city. Whether it is metro work or pipeline or cable line, there is no proper planning to repair the road even after the completion of the work. They leave the debris on the roads which is dangerous for commuters and pedestrians. There is no proper planning in repairing the roads either," said Vinod Kumar Kanumala, founder of the Indian Federation of Road Safety.
There were 2271 accidents reported in Hyderabad in 2016, and 371 people died in these road crashes last year. In 2017, there have already been 416 road accidents reported in the city, and 48 people have died so far.
In a recent accident in Warangal district, an over-speeding two-wheeler fell into a culvert in a road which was dug up. The accident was allegedly cause due to negligence of contractor who did not put any warning signboard or barricades on the under-construction road.
In the accident, a 21-year-old college student was killed and two others were injured, after the trio fell into the culvert.
“Even if they are digging the road, they should inform the traffic police so that the traffic can be diverted to a different route. Also, without a signboard, the road becomes very dangerous at night,” Chandrasekhar said.