Rains ravage roads across Hyderabad; potholes, craters greet commuters

Hyderabad: The incessant rain may have given a respite for city dwellers from heat, but commuters are bearing the brunt of the destruction wrought on the roads. In long stretches across the city, the roads are battered or potholed. Driving on these bad roads has become a risky affair for commuters.

Potholes with yawning gaps are greeting the citizens as soon as they step out of their houses. Be it residential colonies or main roads, people are taking detours to reach their workplaces. The road users want the authorities to immediately take up quality patch work.

The rains which caused extreme inconvenience are also becoming a pain for motorists, causing accidents in some cases due to improper roads. The commuters are facing hardships due to poor maintenance, including potholed roads, damaged manholes, stagnant water, unattended garbage, and incomplete road works.

One of the worst-affected commuting stretches is the Uppal stretch. With ongoing flyover construction works, the entire stretch has turned into a dirt patch, with road users facing tough moments negotiating their way through. The road can be seen dotted with big potholes. Another major stretch between Nehru Zoological Park and Aramgarh has worsened following the rains. A similar situation is witnessed on several such stretches.

Colonies in areas like Kapra, Serilingampally, Nizampet, Uppal, Jubilee Hills Banjara Hills, Kukatpally, Khairatabad, Ameerpet, Nampally, Tolichowki, Langar Houz, Film Nagar and Shaikpet are riddled with potholes, creating a hazardous driving experience.

“Roads in the city took a beating due to rainfall and have turned into a commuting hazard. The blacktopping was washed away, creating scores of large potholes,” said Dilip Jain, a commuter at Madhapur.

After rains, entire city 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, Chandrayangutta, Aghapura areas are also severely affected.

“Driving on several roads in the city has turned into a nightmare for citizens,” said Mohammed Ahmed, a resident of Old City.

The inadequate drainage worsens the problem, leading to water pooling on roads, 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 demand the civic body to address the deplorable state of infrastructure in the area and pointed out that at areas where new flyovers are under construction, and where other works going on, the roads have gone from bad to worse.