A bridge too far for commuters as Falaknuma RoB remains incomplete

Long wait for commuters due to incomplete Falaknuma rail over bridge causing traffic snarls, delays, and bus route changes.

It is going to be a long wait for commuters travelling from Shalibanda to Chandrayangutta as the Falaknuma rail over bridge (RoB) remains incomplete. Having to put up with traffic snarls, especially later in the evening, commuters and State-run buses continue to face hassles in plying on the stretch.

“The trouble with traffic begins around 9 p.m. despite presence of traffic police. There are a large number of two-wheelers and cars moving at night. There have been several instances when [vehicular] movement stops. This goes on till 11.30 p.m. or midnight. One of the reasons for so much traffic is that people travel to Bandlaguda and adjoining areas as there are a large number of function halls,” says Mohammed Khaleequddin Wasil.

Kareem Ansari, a Right to Information (RTI) activist with youRTI.in, who commutes daily from Shaheen Nagar, a neighbourhood further south of Chandrayangutta, to Shalibanda, says that he is often forced to take alternate routes to reach his place of work in Barkatupura. “It is because of the summer that people are avoiding going out during the day, which is why the Falaknuma bridge is seeing heavy traffic at night. Whenever there is traffic, instead of taking a simple, straight route, I have to go towards Chandrayangutta, Uppuguda, Lal Darwaza and reach Moghalpura. The issue is the roads here are narrow and also prone to gridlock,” says Mr Ansari.

Exasperated with the traffic issue Mr. Ansari sought information, under the Right to Information Act, about the tentative date of completion of RoB widening. According to the South Central Railway (SCR), the Telangana government deposited about ₹14.18 crore in their account for them to begin construction of portions under their purview.

In December last year, Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi, noting that work had not begun, wrote to the SCR., urging them to take up construction. It then came to light that the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewage Board had not removed a defunct 1200 mm diameter pipeline.

While the RTI response states that the “probable” date of completion of the RoB is July 30, 2024, commuters and residents of neighbourhoods near the bridge expressed apprehensions. When the probable date of completion was communicated to a resident of Kalapather who frequently takes the Falaknuma bridge, he said, “To complete, and give full access to the public in less than a month seems challenging.”

Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) officials confirmed that their buses have stopped plying the Falaknuma bridge over concerns of traffic jams and overloading. “When there is no traffic we try to route buses via Lal Darwaza. But the roads here are very narrow and it becomes very difficult for buses to ply there,” informed a senior TGSRTC official.