Hyderabad: Just 5 crore for Cherlapally terminal

Hyderabad: In a major blow to the development of satellite terminal at Cherlapally station, the total allotment of Rs 5 crore is being viewed as a snub by stakeholders. "At a time when the city is bursting at the seams and traffic congestion is becoming the order of the day, the meagre allotment is nothing but an insult," said Ravi Kiran, a retired Railway employee and resident of Moula Ali.

Work at the Cherlapally Station is moving at a snail's pace. Railway officials said that land acquisition is a major problem. The State government had earlier agreed to allot Rs 100 crore to develop the station as a green terminal but there has been no progress on the front.

The Secunderabad Railway station is overloaded and reached optimum capacity and, as a result, Cherlapally station was zeroed in on to develop it into a mega terminal. "Unless 12 platforms are built, there is no meaning in developing the station," said Manohar a railway contractor.

Noor Ahmed Ali, a member of Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee (DRUCC), says, "If the State government does not allot land, the SCR would have to adjust with just 5-6 platforms and that would not serve the purpose."

Railways owns 50 acres of land but much more is needed to make it a mega terminal which would then ease the burden of Secunderabad, Kacheguda and Nampally Railway stations.

WAIT JUST GOT LONGER

1. As Secunderabad station is overburdened, Cherlapally station has potential to develop into a mega terminal

2. Work at Cherlapally station is moving at a snail's pace. Land acquisition is a major problem.

3. Railways owns 50 acres of land but much more is needed to make it a mega terminal

4. State govt earlier agreed to allot Rs 100 crore to develop the station as a green terminal but there has been no progress