The state government is preparing an action plan to repair Hyderabad roads so that commuters will not face any problem in the next five years.

As the roads in Hyderabad were being damaged every year due to rains, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday directed officials concerned to prepare an action plan within a week and repair the roads.

“The repairs of roads will be taken up this time to ensure that there will be no problem for commuters for the next five years”, minister Danam Nagender told reporters after the review meeting with the chief minister.

“What are you doing to solve the problem? Why are roads getting damaged after each rainy season? Why is this happening frequently? I want a comprehensive road action plan within a week”, the Chief Minister told officials during the review meet at the Secretariat.

He told the officials that funds would not be a problem to take up road repairs. The Chief Minister directed the officials that the road repair and maintenance should be taken up on a war-footing basis.

The Chief Minister would have another review meeting after the officials submit an action plan to him.

Officials said that considerable damages to roads in GHMC were due to the excessive rains during the season. GHMC commissioner MT Krishna Babu said that there were excess rains in June, July and August compared to previous years.

Roads were damaged due to the incessant rains very frequently and also because of the stagnant water. He said that the total rainfall received in the GHMC area during this monsoon from June 1 to August 22 was 512 mm against the normal 406 mm. This was 26.1 per cent excess rain, he explained.

“The number of rainy days were 12 in June and 17 in July and 15 in August with minimum dry spells. Due to continuous and incessant rainy days for 3 to 4 days and changed rainfall pattern with occasional flash flooding and inundation, the BT Roads were damaged or worn out and big potholes and large damaged stretches occurred”, said the officials.

Out of the 6,780 km road network in the GHMC area, about 300 km length belong to R&B and NH departments which were main corridors, and the remaining 6,480 km were under the GHMC.  Further, the Secunderabad Cantonment Board was also maintaining roads in the Cantonment Board Area.

The extent of road length damaged was identified as 61.135 km at 2,739 locations in the GHMC area. Officials informed that so for 15,310 number of potholes were identified and 13,501 potholes were  filled with Bitumen Mix. So far, 39.54 km roads have been improved.