Hyderabad: Skywalk to dot Mehdipatnam skyline

Mehdipatnam: Very soon, the pedestrians at the busy Mehdipatnam junction will have a hurdle-free crossing of road with the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) approving a skywalk. As pedestrians continue to find it difficult to cross the road at Mehdipatnam and Rythu Bazar area, despite the presence of a zebra crossing and signals, a skywalk proposal was made and was subsequently approved.

According to Nampally MLA Jaffer Hussain Meraj, people crossing the either side of the road near Rythu Bazaar area face risk of accidents due to heavy vehicular movement in the area. With skywalk, it will provide an easy passage for pedestrians. "The aim is to provide pedestrian connectivity from the military area side towards commercial space and residential areas in nearby localities including Asif Nagar and Gudimalkapur," he said.

"The project of skywalk bridge was proposed to HMDA and it has approved the project with an amount of Rs 30 crore," added the MLA.

On Thursday, the legislator along with the officials from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and HMDA inspected the area and asked the officials to start the works at the earliest. "The officials are making all efforts to start the works and finish the project within six months," said MLA Jaffer, adding that after the completion of the project, the vehicular flow would significantly improve and pedestrians would have a comfortable option to move from one side to the other.

Officials from HMDA said that the half-a-km skywalk will also have other provisions as of a commercial building. It will be constructed at an overall length of 380 metres and width of 3.6 metres and will have 16 lifts, including two at nearby Rythu Bazaar. A series of bus stops on the military side and a bus terminal at the commercial side will bring in a lot of pedestrian flow, informed an officer.