There are a plethora of jokes on Hyderabad traffic we stumble upon every day. Being one of the most crowded cities in India, Hyderabad is in fact well-known for the heavy traffic that would take you from point A to B in eternity or more. The hour-long waits, improper roadways, and in fact the severe pits, all in all, one could say that the whole road transportation system in the city needs to go through a revamp for good.
Experts claim that most of these problems are actually solvable, and it is due to the negligence of the leaders and the authorities that created a situation where a two-wheeler takes hours to move forward a bare couple of kilometers. There have been criticisms that the government is currently obsessed with making more money, instead of organizing the state matters in a healthy way. In addition, due to a lack of coordination with other departments, the proliferation of personal vehicles, and parking problems, those who come on the roads are stuck in an unknown dilemma of when to go home. Although police say the speed of vehicles has reached 25 kilometers per hour from 12, between 2017 and March 2022. In reality, it looks like it is all over the same again. The use of personal vehicles has increased to a great extent, post the COVID situation. On the other hand, the public transportation system doesn’t look any better. This made the problem even more complicated. It is said that even on the routes where the metro is working, there is a traffic jam for kilometers.
The state government is focusing solely on making money:
Memes are being forwarded on social media that the traffic police have turned into good photographers. The photos they take are of that quality. Since the inception of the Telangana government, Rs 300 crore has been levied annually. Fine collections range from Rs.500 to Rs.1500 per photo taken while standing on the roads. Recent subsidies have dragged on to the tune of Rs 280 crore. It is pretty clear that the police alone are making a humungous amount of money that is high enough to be comparable with the part of the budget good enough to be allocated to one sector. But, the government is utterly failing to spend that money efficiently. The rules curated by the government sound serious enough to create a fear among the people to abide by the rules, but it doesn’t look like the government is capable of utilizing the funds properly.
No proposals such as revoking the driver’s license, adding a charge sheet, and doing socially conscious service activities are seen. It seems that the government is solely focusing on extracting enough money from the common people. People are of a feeling that the government is not at all interested in making the public transportation system in Telangana any better as long as the people are their cash cows.
What happened to the public transportation that was as good as before?
What is the major reason for the increase in traffic in the city? Experts say that this is due to the lack of enough public transportation. In the past, there were around 3850 RTC buses running in the city, which now dropped to 2850. That means a thousand buses have been reduced. In general, the government is supposed to increase the number of buses plying to the growing urban population, but it isn’t so. The private vehicles hit the road heavily. And the second phase of Metro is not even active yet. Mini transports are not available. In addition to these, Ola, Uber cabs, Rapido bikes, and autos are able to pick up people all the way from their houses. However, there is not even a widening of the roads to fulfill the growing needs.
All the major highways that are functional were built during the joint Andhra Pradesh period. The new two-way stretch from Ameerpet to Patan Cheru is yet to be finalized. The second phase of MMTS is completed, but the trains aren’t running yet. A healthy and aggressive expansion is very necessary to adapt to the growing population. One could say that the Bypass roads and flyovers altogether of more than 30 are also not enough to meet the needs. It is said that the government needs to trace out at least 50 new short-cuts to defeat the traffic issues in Hyderabad. Experts warn that if this is not pursued, the city of Hyderabad would soon become a horrific example of a failed traffic system.
What could be done in the chronic traffic areas?
From Hayat Nagar to Patan Cheru, from Nagore to Narsingi, from Secunderabad to Kompally, from Bowenpally to Alwal, from Miyapur to Kompally, from Afzal Ganj to Chandrayan Gutta, from Lakdikpool to Shamshabad, all these places suffer the most when it comes to the peak time traffic. Experts say that even though the difficulty has eased a bit as software employees continue to work from home, the roads will not be able to accommodate if they all come to their offices in Hyderabad. It is believed that the role of the traffic police would mean nothing in such conditions, and the problem can only be solved with more one-ways and flyovers.
Lack of coordination with other departments:
The construction of the roads, and subsequently their maintenance, were entrusted to the same contractors by GHMC. The maintenance departments always manage to fill the road pits within a week whenever they go through substantial damage due to rains, but the kind of coordination between the GHMC and traffic department in order to crack the traffic jam issues is disappointing. Many were confined to their homes during the Corona period. Many roads were laid keeping in view the conditions of the time. The roads have not been widened enough to compensate for another 20 years. With this, the people of the city are getting stuck in traffic jams. Roads are being dug for my expansion works. Experts say that the lack of a proper coordination team with the Water Board seems to be one of the reasons.
Where is a multi-level parking system?
Parking near most shopping complexes, restaurants, and commercial apartments is poor. Vehicles are parked on the roads. This is causing a traffic jam on the roads. The police are charging Rs 1,500 for parking cars in random places, but they are not imposing any fines on the landlords. It was said earlier that the parking apartments would be built on vacant government lands in the city. No steps have been taken in that direction so far. While parking in IT areas is not a problem, it has become a big problem in the main city. This is also due to the lack of facilities in Patna, Abids, Kothi, Ameerpet, and Secunderabad. The way permits are given for the buildings after doing a fire inspection, experts say that the permits should be given to the traffic police in a similar fashion with more care. It is now clear that the growing concerns regarding the traffic in the city must be addressed as soon as possible.
