Hyderabad Metro Rail Project - Necessary Evil?

The Urban Public Transport is a critical component of urban infrastructure and the lifeline of the city, which needs to be developed well ahead of the development of the Planned City. But unfortunately, the planners of Hyderabad and the State Administration had been debating about LRTS, MMTS, MRTS, BRTS etc, while the city population exploded and the concrete jungle emerged in the name of development over the last two decades or so. The present Hyderabad City Traffic problem is nothing but the making of the State Administration, due to its monumental failure.

Road Widening & Flyovers No Answer

Instead of giving priority for energy efficient public transport system, the administration concentrated on widening roads without footpaths, building flyovers etc making room for additional motor vehicles on already choked roads. This made things worse, by adding to the alarming levels of air and noise pollution increase, the road fatalities, travel delays and loss of productivity. It is like trying to cure obesity by loosening the belt.

Viable Alternatives

The important factors to be considered are a) altering society's total use of transportation  b) altering the volume of transportation services produced by each unit of fuel utilized  c) altering the carbon content of fuel used.

 

 1)The cost effective and sustainable solution to Hyderabad Traffic problems, is the adoption of "Avoidance Mode" (suppression of demand), instead of continuing with the Supply Mode only as at present - namely widening  Roads, building  Flyovers etc..This can be achieved by planning new townships which are self supporting and by rearranging/decentralizing the facilities in the core city, to minimize intra-city commuting as much as possible and alter the traffic pattern altogether in the next 10 years..

2)The other solution is energy efficient (Rail based) Public Transport System,  less capital intensive, affordable, safe, fast, reliable and should blend with the character and heritage of the Hyderabad City without defacing them and becoming an eye-sore. The proposed MRTS does not satisfy all the above and may become a necessary evil.

3)The viable, quick and least expensive alternative appears to be to make use of the exiting MMTS, suitably strengthening and augmenting by extending lines, laying new lines  ,setting up more stations and by laying third line from Secunderabad to Nampally and on other radial lines as required, with feeder bus routes connecting the interior areas, having a combined ticket for Rail & Bus etc. "Hyderabad Metropolitan Transport Authority" to manage MMTS network integrated with Road Transport system in the entire area covered by HMDA  

 The combination of solutions at 1 & 3 are cost effective and sustainable. However, a wider public consultation and debate are required on the subject.

 

The development/infrastructure, based on entirely Road-Transportation, making our country dependent on AUTO and OIL Lobby, of USA, is not sustainable and not suitable to Indian Economy.

______________________________________________________________________