Govt uses lockdown to improve, beautify Hyderabad

As the nationwide lockdown is in force and people are staying indoors, the authorities in Hyderabad used this opportunity to lay new roads, building flyovers and taking up beautification of traffic junctions. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and other agencies are laying new roads or re-carpeting them and speeding up the construction of flyovers.

Hyderabad:With the authorities trying to make the most of the lockdown by laying new roads, building flyovers and taking up beautification of traffic junctions, Hyderabad is undergoing a transformation.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and other agencies are laying new roads or re-carpeting them and speeding up construction of flyovers. The lockdown that began on March 23 has come as a boon for municipal authorities, who often invite criticism for the poor road and traffic chaos.

GHMC officials said they never had an occasion to take up work on largescale without disruptions. In normal days, continuous flow of traffic hampers works.

In the early days of lockdown, Municipal Administrator K.T. Rama Rao asked the GHMC and others to seize the opportunity and fast track the pending works.

Arvind Kumar, Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration, said they had also taken up traffic island improvement. "Get ready to witness some pleasant surprises soon," tweeted the official along with photographs of the beautification works, taken up at IKEA junction in Hitec City.

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has taken beautification of major traffic junctions. It's decking up the IKEA junction with greenery, bollards and attractive sculptures.

Meanwhile, Rama Rao on Saturday reviewed the works with Greater Hyderabad Mayor Bonthu Rammohan and senior officials and asked them to speed up the works. As it would begin to rain next month, the works should be completed this month, he said.

The government wanted Hyderabad as a city free from traffic jams, he said and asked officials to also focus on completing link roads by making land acquisitions.

However, the poor and labourers living on such lands must be rehabilitated, he added.

IANS report.