Mayor moots two link roads to bypass OU campus

HYDERABAD: To avoid any disruption of vehicular movement during agitations or protests on Osmania University campus, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation  has drawn up plans to lay two new link roads skirting the campus so that traffic need not enter the campus during times of such turbulence.

The plan for link roads was proposed by city mayor Bonthu Rammohan who is familiar with the campus having studied at the university. According to his idea, one link road will run from the OU campus entrance (NCC Gate) to the Adikmet road overbridge (ROB). The other road will run from the campus entrance to the TV Studio at Ramanthapur all along the boundary of the university. This is considered necessary in view of the usually heavy traffic from RTC crossroads, Vidyanagar and Fever Hospital towards Ramanthapur and Uppal via DD Colony and other parts of Bagh Amberpet.

The corporation has identified the two stretches to be part of a major traffic corridor from Adikmet to Ramanthapur TV Studio. The alternative road is also expected  to reduces the distance and travel time from Tarnaka and Adikment towards Ramanthapur. It is observed that a lot of employees and students commute between the two places.

GHMC officials told Express that for laying the link roads, the corporation has invited consultancy services for conducting a feasibility  study and preparing a detailed project report on construction of link road from OU campus to Adikmet RoB and from OU Campus entrance to Ramanthapur TV Studio, a distance of 33.6 km along the boundary of Osmania Unversity.

Along with the laying of the two new roads, the two corridors from NCC Gate to Tourist Hotel (3.1 km) and Adikmet RoB to Tarnaka (2.8 km) will be improved.  Though traffic congestion cannot be eliminated altogether in the area, simple road engineering can help reduce it besides the commuting time, by splitting the collective traffic on a single route into different stretches, the officials added.

Further, the solutions suggested by the civic body will cost less than building bige flyovers or widening the roads. Moreover, it can be accomplished in a short  period of time. There are private properties along the DD Colony road and at the other end. Emphasis will be on avoiding private properties and utilise government properties to reduce the project cost, the official said.