Hyderabad, October 16: The P V Narasimha Rao Elevated Expressway, the longest flyover in the country, will be opened to public on October 19. Finally.
The inauguration of the elevated corridor would be a low-key affair and would be opened by Chief Minister K Rosaiah.
The 11.6-km flyover from Sarojini Devi Road, Mehdipatanam to Aramghar Junction is ready as some minor protection were completed by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) a few days ago.
From Monday, commuters can zip to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad from Mehdipatanam in 15 to 20 minutes in a hassle-free manner. The airport is at a distance of 22 km from the heart of the city.
The naming of the flyover after the late Prime Minister, P V Narasimha Rao is mired in controversy as the Majilis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) has been opposing the same since Rao was the PM when the Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992. They have been demanding that the State Government rename the flyover after late CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
Meanwhile, the State government has made it cleared that there is no question of changing the name of the expressway. The Minister for Municipal Administration Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, during an inspection to the site, stated that the decision to name the Expressway after Narasimha Rao had been taken by YSR.
The State Government has incurred an expenditure of about Rs 600 crore on the Expressway. Of this, Rs 439 crore was spent for constructing the flyover and remaining Rs 161 crore was paid as compensation for acquiring of lands, shifting of utilities and price escalation etc. The project was taken up under EPC basis.
The elevated corridor traverses on the central median of Inner Ring Road (IRR). Ramanarayana Reddy has announced that there is no proposal by the State Government to collect toll tax from the people using the Expressway
–Agencies–