Under Strategic Road Development Programme (SRDP) aimed at easing traffic congestion in Hyderabad, foundation stone was laid on Saturday for two steel flyovers to be built at a cost of Rs 426 crore.

Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister K.T. Rama Rao laid the foundation stone in the presence of Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy.

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) will build a four-lane bi-directional elevated corridor from Indira Park to VST (2.610 km) at a cost of Rs 350 crore.

A second level three-lane bi-directional flyover will be constructed from Ram Nagar to Baghlingampally (0.850 km) at a cost of Rs 76 crore.

Both the flyovers will be made of steel and will have steel piers, steel pier caps, and steel girders with cast in-situ deck slabs.

Rama Rao said though steel bridge works cost 20 to 30 per cent more, the government decided to build steel bridges as the works can be completed faster and avoid inconvenience to road users.

KTR, as the minister is popularly known, said the government was committed to build skyways up to a length of 36 km at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore.

Stating that the skyway works require defence lands, he urged Kishan Reddy to use his good offices to persuade the defence ministry to hand over these lands for road development.

KTR said during the last six years, the government undertook several road improvement works in Hyderabad. SRDP works were taken up at a cost of Rs 6,000 crore

He pointed out that due to less volume of traffic on the roads during the last four months because of the lockdown, the works were expedited. He said the work which would have taken 10 months was completed in two months.

The minister said that if Hyderabad is to be developed into a global city, traffic congestion has to be eased. “Realising this, on one hand SRDP was launched while on the other Hyderabad Road Development Corporation Limited was formed to take up new link roads and missing roads. Under an innovative initiative, comprehensive road maintenance programme, 710 km length of roads were given to private parties for maintenance.”

Kishan Reddy stressed the need for rising above politics and working together to improve road infrastructure in the city.

He said the population of Hyderabad was likely to grow further and hence there was a need for more roads and flyovers. Stating that investors are reluctant to go to Bengaluru because of the traffic problems there, the minister called for avoiding such a situation in Hyderabad.

Kishan Reddy called for speeding up the flyover work at Amberpet jointly undertaken by the Centre and the state government.

A major fire that broke out on the University of Hyderabad campus Wednesday night led to the death of several wild animals, students and wildlife activists said.

Students and the university security staff battled for two hours to douse the flames, which started simultaneously at three places, killing wild animals in an area of 8-10 acres.

The fire, the second in 15 days, left the students puzzled about its cause and they demanded that the university authorities immediately procure fire-fighting equipment and deploy security guards on the rocks to keep an eye on the trespassers.

A university official said the fire broke out at 9.30 p.m. near the boundary towards Nallagandla side. “About 20 security guards and 15-20 students reached and put out the fire by 11.15 p.m. with the help of portable fire extinguishers. A fire engine also was called from Gachibowli which helped in completely putting out the fire,” a university spokesman said.

When the place was inspected on the morning, it was found that some people were trying to cook inside the university as stones to balance the utensils and ashes were found at the site. It is suspected that some labourers from the Nallagandla side would have come inside the university to cook food, he said.

The university authorities said they were trying to procure additional fire-fighting equipment to tackle such situations.

Students say the central university witnesses 6-7 fires every year but the second incident in two weeks has raised concerns about the safety of wildlife.

“Last week, the first had burnt dry grass on 6-8 acres but this time it was a huge fire. It started from three points,” B. Rohit Kumar, a research scholar, told IANS.

He said he along with other students and activists saved two pythons. Many wild animals are believed to have perished in the fire.

He said they were puzzled by two fire incidents in 15 days. They suspect it could have been lit by cattle-herders who enter from outside and burn the old dry grass so that new grass grows in its place.

They said poachers could also be behind the fire incidents. Sometimes the students also light campfire but the recent incidents are not related to them.

“Every year the university is witnessing at least seven major fire accidents, which are causing lot of wildlife deaths and destroying valuable biodiversity,” said Dr Ravi Jillapalli, founder, Wild Lens, a group working to create awareness of the biodiversity on the campus.

He pointed out that in the past fire incidents damaged labs in Computer science, Life Sciences (Old building), and shelter sheds of construction labourers.

He said a security person and few students were injured in the fire caused by burning of a garbage dump a year ago. The then Assistant Registrar immediately proposed to purchase a fire extinguisher vehicle which was estimated around Rs 30 lakh, but the proposal was rejected by the administration.

He said a university with eminence and potential for excellence is struggling a lot to procure basic fire safety mechanism. “Is it really that difficult for a university with crores of funding to get a fire extinguisher vehicle and couple of fire fighters,” he asked.

A huge fire in February this year had burnt dry grass over 150 acres of land towards Gopichand Badminton Academy side.

The university campus spread over 2500-3000 acres is home to several rare species of bird and wild animals like spotted deer, wild board, monitor lizard and Asian palm civet.

Rohit Kumar said they were worried about the safety of the animals. The students had been demanding the university authorities procure the latest fire-fighting equipment so that the fire breaking out in deep forest area on the campus can be controlled.

Migrant workers from various states staged protests in Hyderabad and Ramagundam on Sunday, demanding the authorities send them back to their homes.

About 1,000 workers belonging to Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and living in Mehdipatnam and Toli Chowki areas in Hyderabad came out on the roads, demanding transport arrangements to their respective states.

They gathered at Toli Chowki flyover and when police tried to stop them, they sat on the road, raising slogans. The flash protests led to mild tension in the area.

Deputy Commissioner of Police A.R. Srinivas rushed to the scene and tried to pacify the protestors. He advised the migrant workers to approach their nearest police station and register their names and other details. He assured that the details will be forwarded to the government for making necessary transport arrangements. Following the assurance, the workers peacefully dispersed.

Meanwhile, migrant workers also staged a protest in Ramagundam town of Peddapalli district, demanding that they be sent back to their respective states.

The migrants working in the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) plant in Ramagundam sat on state highway Rajiv Rahadari. Hailing from West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, the workers alleged that despite repeated requests the officials were not making any transport arrangements for them.

The workers had already registered their details at NTPC police station and since no action was taken on their request, they again reached the police station. As the police told them that it will take time for responding to their request, the workers numbering about 400 registered their protest by reaching the highway and staging a sit-in.

Ramagundam MLA Korukanti Chandar reached there and assured the workers that the transport arrangements will be made within two days. Following his assurance, the workers called off their protest.

Migrant workers in various parts of Hyderabad and surroundings and other districts in Telangana have been demanding that they be sent back to their respective states. Though the Telangana government is assuring them of supply of cooked food and all necessary help, the desperate workers are insisting on transport arrangements to carry them back to their native places.

There have been similar demands from several places ever since the Centre last week announced that the stranded migrants, students and tourists can return to their homes during the lockdown.

The first train for migrant workers in the country was operated from Lingampalli station near Hyderabad to Hatia in Jharkhand on Friday, carrying over 1,200 workers. They were all working as construction labourers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad at Kandi in Sangareddy district.

Flash protests were held at few places here on Tuesday night, condemning the violence in Delhi and the alleged complicity of Delhi Police.

Candle-light protests were held at Toli Chowki, Seven Tombs Road, King Koti and Yakutpura.

Protestors including women raised slogans against Delhi Police, condemning their brutality. They were also carrying placards demanding withdrawal of the CAA, NPR and NRC.

However, police foiled a candle-light march on Neklace Road abutting Hussain Sagar lake in the heart of the city.

Some activists had called for the march to condemn Delhi Police’s brutality and right-wing violence. Large number of policemen were deployed in the area and the road was deserted even before 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar had appealed to citizens to remain alert and united to see that no mischief maker tries to take advantage of the disturbing news from Delhi. “Our Patrol cars and Bike patrols are your closest friend. Don’t allow rumor mongering. Take pride in our beautiful city Hyderabad,” he said.

He also urged the national media not to show the disturbing visuals of Delhi riots. “It disturbs the mind of common peace loving people. These are testing times for all of us and we all have to work together and ensure that mischief makers do not take advantage,” he said.

Four persons were killed and eight others injured when a wall collapsed at a marriage hall here on Sunday, police said.

The incident occurred at Pearl Garden function hall at Golnaka in Amberpet area when guests at a wedding ceremony were having lunch.

The injured were admitted to a hospital, where the condition of one of them is stated to be critical.

Two auto-rickshaws and six two-wheelers were also damaged in the incident. Rescue teams of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) launched the operation to clear the debris.

Locals said the function hall was re-opened on Sunday after renovation. Some people alleged that negligence by the management led to the tragedy.

The GHMC announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased.

Hyderabad police on Monday imposed a ban on meetings and rallies after the Union Home Ministry issued an advisory to all the states as well as Union Territories to put security forces and law enforcement agencies on maximum alert following the government’s decision to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution.

The ban was imposed under the limits of Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda police commissionerates in and around the Telangana capital.

Cyberabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar said prohibitory orders have been issued on assembly of five or more persons in sensitive areas.

Telangana Director General of Police, M. Mahender Reddy informed all police commissioners and superintendents of police about the advisory over a video conference.

The commissioner said the security had been beefed up and all preventive measures were being taken to prevent any untoward incident.