Vinod Kumar seeks defence land for laying expressways

Hyderabad: The Telangana State Planning Board Vice Chairman B Vinod Kumar on Saturday urged the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to handover the cantonment lands to the State government for laying expressways connecting the Rajiv Rahadari which would ease the traffic problems.

The Planning Board VC wrote a letter to the Defence Minister on Saturday. Vinod Kumar said that with the increasing population and the rise in the number of vehicles on the roads, traffic congestion has become a major issue for the people. This has resulted in long travel times, increased air pollution and a significant reduction in the quality of life for the citizens.

In order to improve the quality of life of the citizens, the Telangana government has taken several initiatives to increase road connectivity in the State which include construction of new highways, upgradation of existing roads, construction of flyovers and underpasses.

Taking inspiration from the PVNR elevated expressway in Hyderabad connecting Mehdipatnam to Airport, the Telangana government is constructing an elevated corridor on NH 44 connecting Bowenpally to Kompally and Uppal elevated corridor on NH163 from Amberpet Road No. 6 to CPRI at Medipally. The government plans to construct more such elevated corridors on all major routes connecting Hyderabad to the rest of Telangana. However, there are numerous issues that are limiting the State from implementing these projects.

Vinod said that he is a frequent traveller to Karimnagar and Warangal via the Rajiv Rahadari four-lane highway that connects Hyderabad with Karimnagar in Telangana. He said that the commuters experience long traffic jams when they enter and exit the city of Hyderabad. With the construction of Rajiv Rahadari, the travel time between Hyderabad and Karimnagar will be reduced significantly. Earlier, it used to take around 4-6 hours to cover the distance, but now it can be covered in just 2-3 hours. However, a lot of time is lost in the city as the arterial roads leading to this highway are narrow and clogged with various establishments, said Vinod Kumar.

Telangana government intends to increase the travel efficiency and at the same time reduce the agony of the commuters by the expansion of the roads leading to the Rajiv Rahadaari. He recalled that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and Minister KT Rama Rao wrote multiple letters to the Union Minister regarding the proposed expansion of roads in Cantonment areas route will connect the Parade Grounds to the Outer Ring Road Junction at Shamirpet, which is a key transit point for the people of Hyderabad. Vinod said that the construction of this expressway would significantly reduce travel time and relieve traffic congestion, thus improving the overall quality of life for the people of Hyderabad.