Year Ender: Civic body gave Hyderabad a Rs 326-crore infra push this year
By Aiswarya Sriram Published on 30 Dec 2019 5:48 AM GMT
Huderabad: Jam to butter-smooth. This was perhaps the theme the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation had in its mind for the Telangana capital in 2019. In its efforts to free important roads of congestion and ensure smooth vehicular movement, the civic body doled out Rs 326.12 crore on engineering projects. Adding more curves to the contours of Hyderabad's infrastructure, the GHMC spent most of the funds erecting piers to hold roads several feet above the ground.
The outcome was three swanky overpasses ā the Rajiv Gandhi statue flyover costing Rs 98 crore, Bio-diversity flyover (Rs 70 crore) and LB Nagar LHS flyover (Rs 43 crore). The focus didn't always remain above the ground. The municipal corporation had its plans for the city's underbelly too. It used nearly Rs 52 crore to reconstruct and set up new stormwater drains, channels that prevent flooding in an area, at 16 sites near different lakes and the Mussi river.
For the convenience of pedestrians, officials upgraded 13 road junctions by building skywalks and foot overbridges at Rs 12 crore. The intersections include Kharmanghat, Cybercity Khanamet, Paradise, Shenoy Nursing Home, Shivaji Bridge, Kavadiguda, Borabanda Bus Stop, KPHB Temple Bus Stop, Suchitra Phase 2, IDPL and City College.
The municipal corporation upgraded several roads at a cost of Rs 21 crore. The project covered BT Roads, the route from Botanical Gardens to Old Bombay road via Masjeed Banda Village and the one connecting Inorbit mall road and Madhapur main road via Westin Hotel Raheja Junction 5.
Under the engineering projects, GHMC added many other amenities. It spent Rs 16.5 crore on sports complexes at Sanath Nagar, Adikmet, Hindi Nagar, Golkonda and Kukatpally. The facilities at Golkonda and Kukatpally are equipped with a swimming pool and indoor stadium. In 2019, the homeless got more room as five night shelters came up in Hyderabad for Rs 6.5 crore. The GHMC also spent nearly Rs 5 crore to give the city two new fish markets.
