Greater Hyderabad civic body launches road widening drive

Old City areas are likely to get a brand-new appearance with wide roads and new buildings due to the huge road widening and enhancement works on the flyovers and junctions. Along with the development, narrow roads and traffic congestion would disappear soon as well. As per the officials of the civic body, the regional elected representatives are planning new proposals to expand the roads in their jurisdiction. The GHMC officials told the media that recently, around 20 roads had been widened, and 22 roads have been taken up in the past two years, particularly in Charminar and Chandrayangutta constituencies. They said road works are being performed on several stretches, including Himmatpura to Fateh Darwaza, Riyasatnagar road, Tippu Khan mosque to Purani Haveli (Cheta Bazar), Azeem Hotel to ChurchGate, Doodh Bowli to Vazeer Ali, Azha Khan mosque to Daira Mir Momin and Rakshapuram Road. The municipal administration department also gave the approval to construct flyovers like Shastripuram road-over-bridge, Bahadurpura flyover, flyover near Owaisi Hospital, and work at Zohrabee Dargah junction, and the works are still underway. The officials told the media that the first significant road widening work in Old City was performed on the Charminar to Falaknuma stretch, which was expanded to 100 feet from 30 to 40 feet, and over 300 properties have been obtained. It took five years to complete the project due to stiff resistance from locals and property owners. S Devender Reddy, the chief city planner of GHMC, told the media that the locals, who were hesitant over giving up their property earlier, now consented to road works' expansion after witnessing the growth in other parts of the city. The government has declared two roads, Doodh Bowli and Himmatpura commercial roads, which means that significant commercial buildings such as shopping malls can be constructed on these roads. The town planning officials told the media that property owners are now seeking road expansion since road widening enhances the property value and commercial value. Image Source Also read: Chennai Port-Maduravoyal expressway to cost over Rs 5,000