A Volkswagen GT car that overshot the Biodiversity flyover in Hyderabad on Saturday resulting in the death of a woman and injuring three others was travelling at the speed of 104 kmph (kilometre per hour) while the permissible speed on the flyover is just 40 kmph. On November 11, another car, with its driver in an inebriated condition, caused an accident killing two people. While the drivers of both cars have been unequivocally condemned, some have raised questions on the design of the flyover too. Officials with the GHMC and the private construction firm that built the flyover however categorically state that there is nothing wrong with the design of the flyover.
Venkata Rama, the Superintendent engineer for Serilingampally zone under the GHMC limits, says the “typical mentality” of people when it comes to driving and road safety is the cause for both the accidents. “The statements calling into question the design of the flyover are immature. No expert or human being can comment on that curve without going into AutoCAD drawings."
Every infrastructure and building project is first designed over software such as AutoCAD and then approved by the concerned authorities before the construction begins.
“There are enough and more signboards to inform drivers to reduce speed on the bridge as per Indian Road Congress (IRC) rules. The rule specifies where to place which signboard, these things are well-defined,” Venkata Rama adds.
GHMC says they had installed additional warning signboards than necessary on the flyover under pressure from the city traffic police. “The local police intervened and asked us to provide more signboards. In fact, that flyover is full of signboards and that too is a problem, signboards have to be placed as per standards. Too many signboards also mean there will be unnecessary activity in the mind of the driver,” he adds.
The Biodiversity flyover has witnessed two accidents since it opened for the public on November 4.
On Saturday around 1.19 pm, the Volkswagen car lost control, hit the barrier and then plunged 60 feet on to the ground. Forty-year-old Venkata Satyaveni, who was waiting under the flyover with her daughter for an autorickshaw, was crushed by the car. Her daughter Parneetha reportedly even witnessed her mother's tragic death.
On November 11, a software employee from Cognizant, reportedly in an inebriated condition, killed two people and injured four others after he rammed his car against two vehicles before knocking down two persons who were taking selfies. The breathalyser test of the driver revealed he had a Blood Alcohol Content of 223 mg/100 ml -- seven times more than the permissible limit.
The Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development KT Rama Rao has constituted a technical committee, which will be led by former director of CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) TS Reddy, to look into the design. The officials from M Venkata Rao Infra Projects Private Limited, the firm that built the flyover, will also be attending the committee meeting on Monday.
In 2016, M Venkata Rao Infra Projects Private Limited won the tender for the construction of multi-level flyovers/grade separators at four junctions -- the Biodiversity junction, Mindspace junction, Ayyappa Society and the Rajiv Gandhi statue junction for an estimated Rs 379 crore under the package four of the Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP).
The firm, when asked about the discussion in Hyderabad forums questioning the design flaws in the flyover, also pointed out that the two accidents that happened on the flyover were due to drunken driving and overspeeding.
Speaking to TNM, Nichal K , General Manager Infra Projects Private Limited and Coordinator for the project, says, "The flyover is designed for a maximum of 60 kmph speed and the suggested 40 kmph is safe speed. This accident surely happened because of overspeeding and visible distraction of the driver, the visuals clearly show that the driver didn't even try to turn the vehicle at the point despite the high speed."
According to the Cyberabad city traffic police, in the last six days alone over 550 speed challans were given to vehicles passing through the Biodiversity flyover.
The GHMC says they are working out how to deal with lawlessness on the road. "We are struggling as there are no standards for road safety,” says Venkata Rama.
As for the technical committee appointed by the MAUD Minister, the GHMC hopes the committee will arrive at conclusions on Monday itself. “We are bringing in experts in the field of road design. At the end of the day, we have to follow instructions from those who research road safety and not go by public opinion. The flyover is designed for law-abiding citizens, not law-breaking citizens,” the officer adds.
(With inputs from Charan Teja)