October 27, 2007

Zoomed in, crawled out

The flyover at Panjagutta circle (yes, the one that broke, fell and injured many people) is operational. I didn't realize that it was open actually. We were going that side and I suddenly realized that we were on top of it. Bit of a weird feeling....bit scary too. In any event, the ride over it was smooth. Newly laid roads, lane markings all clear, very unusual as the ride was not bumpy like always. It's definitely helped relieve traffic going toward the airport (Begumpet). The join at the end of the flyover, however, is a nightmare. So many lanes merging into one and complete chaos all around. Still, we must have saved a good 10 minutes or more on the way up.

That made the ride back seem all the more terrible. The other side of the flyover isn't operational yet. That side has a couple of big malls and the weekend crowds were already there by the time we got back. We just crawled all the way back. Very irritating. Wonder how long it will take for the flyover to be completed.

Although traffic will ease out a bit, there is so much lacking as regards road planning, traffic regulating etc here in Hyderabad (and most other cities in India). It seems silly that there are billions of dollars invested in the city but there is hardly any invested in developing the infrastructure. One 15-minute downpour is enough to flood the main roads leading up to Hi-Tech City, completely erode the tar coating on top and make it seem like a dirt track. People say its the current government that is responsible but everyone only passes the buck when it comes to this issue. Will someone take ownership and fix this? I hope I get to see it in my lifetime.

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