Hyderabad: Commuters hit hard as rains ravage city roads: lay bare potholes, craters

Hyderabad: Following rain, residents are facing extreme inconvenience due to poor maintenance, including potholed roads, damaged manholes, stagnant water, unattended garbage, and incomplete roadworks. The rain left many roads damaged, posing a risk to commuters.

Driving through roads has become risky for commuters as rain continues to pound the city. The rain, which caused extreme inconvenience, has also troubled motorists, leading to accidents in some cases due to improper roads.

Potholes with yawning gaps greet the citizens as soon as they step out of their houses. When they hit the main road, it is a bumpy ride most of the way. Be it residential colonies or main roads, people are taking detours to reach their workplaces.

Colonies in areas like Kapra, Serilingampally, Nizampet, Uppal, Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills, Kukatpally, Khairatabad, Ameerpet, Nampally, Tolichowki, Langar House, Filmnagar, and Shaikpet are riddled with potholed roads, creating a hazardous driving experience. The presence of damaged manholes further jeopardises the safety of pedestrians and motorists alike.

Said Ramesh Jain, a commuter at Madhapur, “Roads in the city took a beating due to rain and have turned into a commuting hazard. Rain caused the asphalt to erode, and blacktopping washed away, creating scores of large potholes.”

After rain, roads in both the new city and Old City are damaged and filled with potholes. The areas in Old City like Moghalpura, Chaderghat, Shalibanda, Falaknuma, Malakpet, and Chandrayangutta are also severely affected. The inadequate drainage worsens the problem, leading to water-pooling after rain, which not only breeds mosquitoes but also increases the threat of mosquito-borne diseases. The accumulation of uncollected garbage adds to the unsanitary conditions in the area.

The residents demanded the GHMC address the deplorable state of infrastructure in its areas and said that in areas where flyovers are under construction and other works are going on, roads have gone from bad to worse.

Several netizens took to social media to express their grievances. To show the poor quality of roads, images and videos filled with potholes have been posted. “Driving on several roads in the city has turned into a nightmare for citizens,” a commuter posted on X.

Activists point out that delays in the restoration of roads dug up for various purposes, including the laying of drainage and water pipelines, are posing a risk to commuters as well as residents. After rain, the roads turn into accident-prone areas. Dug-up roads at various places in the city are posing a risk to residents, says Mohammed Ahmed, a local activist.

On Monday, GHMC commissioner Amrapali Kata held a meeting with officials and directed them to immediately fill potholes across the city so that commuters may not face any trouble. She directed the sanitation wing to clear garbage to ensure that roads were not

damaged.