No end to traffic woes in Hi-Tec City

HYDERABAD: For an estimated 2.5 lakh employees of several top-notch IT firms located in Madhapur-Kondapur stretch, the strenuous commuting is turning worse by the day. Employers say the commutes are eating into their work hours and adding to their costs with long hours of traffic jams becoming a norm in recent times.
While a staggering number of six lakh vehicles hit Hi-Tec City everyday, an approximate 100 more vehicles are added to this number daily."The Jubilee Hills-Hi-Tec City stretch was converted from a two-lane to a four-lane road, but with such a massive growth in the population, even that seems less," said Vijay Raghavan, transport expert.
The first bottleneck commuters have to deal with every morning on the road leading to Hi-Tec City is the Jubilee Hills checkpost, followed by Madhapur police station and the Hi-Tec City junction. In the evenings, there are massive snarls at Kothaguda junction and the stretch of road next to Hi-Tec City railway station.
"Earlier it used to take one-and-half hours to reach office, now it takes an additional hour. At Jubilee Hills checkpost itself, it takes more than ten minutes to clear the signal. I start an hour early to avoid peak-hour traffic," said Srikant Goud Biragoni, an IT professional who commutes from Sainikpuri to Hi-Tec City everyday.
Commuters complain that the problem area is not just the main road that leads to Hi-Tec City from Jubilee Hills. Even those who moved to Kukatpally hoping for a shorter, smoother commutes are also unhappy. "Earlier, I used to reach offices in just 15 minutes but with the increase in traffic over the last one year, it now takes 45 minutes. Traffic on the under-bridge (which is a one-lane road) near Hi-Tec City railway station comes to a standstill for over 15 minutes with vehicles on this narrow road coming from both sides," said Maulik Agnihotri, an IT professional, who travels daily from Kukatpally to Hi-Tec City.
The Kukatpally flyover, that has remained under construction for over three years, could ease commuter woes once ready, but its completion is nowhere in sight.
The snarls are a grave concern for employers. "Companies provide cabs and buses to employees but the fuel cost of these services is increasing,'' says Bipin Chandra, secretary, IT & ITeS Industry Association of Andhra Pradesh.
Traffic jams only get worse here each time there is an accident, which is not rare. V Surya Chandra Rao, SHO, Banjara Hills Traffic Police, said, "In a rush to get to office, people often jump signals and cross lines leading to minor accidents, which further slows the traffic."
Transport experts point out that had the government provided budget housing to go with the massive employment opportunities in the area, the traffic could have been manageable. "Measures can be taken to construct budget apartments within 5 km distance from the Hi-Tec City area. This will help reduce the traffic," said C Ramachandraiah, professor of urban studies.
While such measures may never really become a reality, employees of IT firms are planning to shift closer to office by coughing up few more rupees. "If the traffic keeps increasing this way, I will have to shift to some place closer to my office which will be a lot more expensive. I reach home by 10 pm tired, and am hardly able to spend time with my family," said Srinivas Rao.