Telangana seeks toll free travel between Hyderabad-Vijayawada during Sankranti to ease traffic
Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy stated that to ensure seamless movement, it is necessary to allow free movement of vehicles from Jan 9-14 from Hyderabad to Vijayawada without any toll collection.
At least one lakh vehicles can be expected to ply on Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highway (NH-65) from January 8 during the festive season of Sankranti, Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said.
In a meeting he chaired on Tuesday, he asked concerned departments to stay alert to prevent traffic congestion. He stated that advanced planning is necessary to avoid any inconvenience to the commuters. He also called upon officials to give priority to traffic regulation in the festival period and asked them not to close roads during this time.
In a letter to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, he asked for toll free movement between Hyderabad-Vijayawada during Sankranti to ease massive traffic jams during the festive season.
"A surge in traffic begins from weekend previous to January 13 which is mostly unidirectional from Hyderabad to Vijayawada. The same traffic returns after Jan 16 up to the weekend as can be seen from the toll collection data at Pathangi, Korlapahad and Chilakallu. This surge in traffic is 200 percent of the normal traffic,” the letter read.
The minister also stated that to ensure seamless movement, it is necessary to allow free movement of vehicles from Jan 9-14 from Hyderabad to Vijayawada without any toll collection. Similarly, toll free movement from Vijayawada-Hyderabad is required from Jan 16-18 for public interest, it said.
Accident on Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway:
In a separate incident, a private travel bus collided with a lorry at Chityala on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highway, injuring several people. The accident happened while the bus was traveling from Narketpally towards Hyderabad. Among the injured are Rama Prabhu (61) and Anagha (25) from Medchal area. They were shifted to a private hospital on the outskirts of Narketpally. Police reached the spot and initiated rescue operations. The accident caused disruption to traffic on the route, which was restored shortly thereafter.