It has been four years since the Uddamgadda (Shastripuram) road under bridge (RuB) started. However, the completion of the project is a long awaited dream.
The Uddamgadda overpass (over the railway crossing) is undertaken jointly by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Railways.
The construction of the Uddamgadda flyover began in 2021 with the aim of providing a hassle-free avenue for people to bypass the Uddamgadda railway gate. Traffic from Bibi ka Chashma, Falaknuma, Vattepally, Shastripuram, Teegalkunta, Nawabsahab Kunta (bound for Shamshabad), Katedan and Aramgarh use the road.
Hyderabad: 3 years on, Uddamgadda flyover work still incomplete
Due to the high traffic flow on the Mailardevpally – Vattepally road, the RuB was mooted and the proposal was cleared by GHMC in 2017 at an estimated cost of Rs71 crore. The works were inaugurated three years later and roads were widened to facilitate construction work for the Uddamgadda flyover.
Originally, the project should have been completed in 18 months but with the present condition, completion is nowhere in sight.
“Since then things have been moving at a snail’s pace. Commuters are facing problems as they have to take a long detour to reach Bandlaguda,” said Moize Khan, a resident of Shastripuram.
To reach Bandlaguda road, motorists take a detour of three kilometres via NPA Shivarampally or Falaknuma – Chandrayangutta. “People spend huge amounts towards fuel costs on the long detours. It literally burns a hole in the pocket,” complained another local resident Mubashhir Khan.
The issue of inordinate delay was echoed in the 2024 Winter Session of the Lok Sabha. In the first week of December, AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP, Asaduddin Owaisi raised the issue of incomplete Falaknuma and Shastripuram rail over bridges (RoB) during the discussion about the Railway Amendment Bill, 2024.
Asaduddin Owaisi described that the time taken for the RoB construction would break world records. “In my constituency, the Falaknuma RoB and the Shastripuram RoB will break the Guinness Book of (World) Records. For four years madam, it has been pending. In Shastripuram RoB construction, 10-15 people have lost their lives,” Owaisi stated.
