Hyderabad’s traffic restrictions on important roads like Jubilee Hills check post to cable bridge have caused major inconvenience to road users. The diversions and barriers put in place have not regulated traffic flow but instead turned into gridlocks, forcing commuters to travel extra kilometers to take a U-turn to reach their destination. This has resulted in wasted time and extra fuel consumption, leading some to wonder if the move was to increase state revenue through taxes on petrol.
Regular commuters have reported that the diversions in many areas have been destructive as they waste time and petrol. The distance that previously took 30 minutes to cover now takes around 45 to 50 minutes due to the diversions imposed on the roads. Riding extra miles due to unnecessary diversions has also affected fuel average, leading to additional expenses.
Traffic diversions have been imposed in the north and east areas of the city, particularly Jubilee Hills, Madhapur, Nanakramguda, Gachibowli, 100-feet road, Masab Tank, Banjara Hills in the western part of the city, as well as Begumpet, Uppal, L B Nagar, Medchal, Suchitra. Commuters have been facing inconvenience due to barricading of regular U-turns, forcing them to travel extra to make a U-turn.
The irregular traffic jams in the city have led people to not reach their destinations on time, leading to delays in their work. Some blame the authorities for introducing U-turns to avoid doing their duties in junctions. The GHMC is imitating efforts to ensure smooth flow of traffic and build major junctions but later barricaded them, causing even more inconvenience for motorists.
Inability to predict travel time and wasting productive time due to unnecessary diversions is completely a waste of fuel and money. Motorists are spending more time traveling than compromising on their productive time. The bad roads and development works have been adding to their woes. The city authorities need to take necessary steps to regulate traffic flow and ensure the smooth functioning of the city’s transportation system.
