Motorists on edge as garbage spill turns bridge into accident spot

Hyderabad: The vital bridge across the Musi river connecting Gowliguda and Darulshifa has become an accident-prone stretch, with commuters blaming poor maintenance of the GHMC garbage transfer station on Imliban island. Two-wheeler riders say garbage and leachate spilling from trucks at the transfer station make the bridge dangerously slippery whenever it rains.People attending religious gatherings as part of Arbayeen — the 40-day mourning period following Ashura (10th of Muharram) — at Azakhana Zehra and other ashoorkhanas in the Old City have urged civic authorities to either shift the garbage transfer station or ensure that waste does not spill onto the bridge.

Several two-wheeler riders skidded and fell on the bridge after light rain last week. During the first 10 days of Muharram, devotees travelling to mourning processions also faced difficulties negotiating the Salar Jung, or Shivaji bridge.

Following a brief drizzle on Thursday and Friday, a series of two-wheelers lost balance on the slippery surface, prompting local residents to stand on the bridge and warn motorists to slow down.

A video showing multiple riders skidding on the bridge went viral on social media last Friday.“Garbage often spills onto the bridge from GHMC vehicles. During summer and winter, we don’t face any problems. The trouble starts with the monsoon.

The road on both sides of the divider becomes slippery even after a light drizzle. Since it usually rains in the evening, it turns into a nightmare for two-wheeler riders and auto drivers to cross the bridge at night,” said Hafiz Shujath Hussain, a regular commuter. The bridge is also used by visitors to the Salar Jung Museum.In December 2012, the GHMC announced that the long-standing garbage problem in the Old City would be addressed by modernising the unregulated dump yard near Imliban Park into a garbage transfer station.

The plan was to segregate waste at the station before transporting it to the main dumping yard.However, residents say that even 14 years later, the problem persists. Besides the foul odour, commuters have to contend with slippery roads during the monsoon. Nearly 2,000 tonnes of garbage collected daily from various parts of the city, particularly the Old City, is first brought to the Imliban transfer station before being transported to the main dumping yard.Residents say the problem is caused by garbage and leachate spilling from trucks bringing waste to the transfer station, although they do not observe similar spillage from vehicles transporting segregated waste from Imliban to the main dumping yard. Morning walkers also face difficulties using the bridge during the rainy season, they added.