Old bridges put civic authorities to shame
At a time when most
of the roads in the city are in dire need of repair, a 90-odd year old bridge,
thought to be in a precarious condition, proves that old is indeed gold and
exposes the civic authorities’ claims of “modern and quality” works.
The bridge in
question is the Tipu Khan bridge, half-a-km from Bapughat, Langer Houz, that
connects the Hydershah Kotla village and Aarmaisamma temple. A new bridge
constructed about seven years ago, adjacent to it, has now become a cause of
concern for the residents and passersby!
“The old bridge still remains rock solid and without any potholes,
whereas, pedestrians can experience vibrations and tremors while walking on the
new one when vehicles pass,” said Subhash Reddy, a city-based activist, adding
that potholes on the new bridge are as worse as craters, and iron rods jut
outside.
“The potholes on the new bridge are 3 ft long and 2 ft wide with a depth
of 4 inches, while the old bridge has no potholes at all!” he added. GHMC
deputy commissioner of Circle 8, AV Ramani was unavailable for a comment. The
bridge was built by Nawab Tipu Khan Bahadur, a high ranking official with the
6th Nizam of Hyderabad Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Bahadur.
Md Safiullah, a city-based historian, said it was quite common to find
new bridges adjacent to old bridges in the city. “But the problem is lack of
practical thinking in design and efficiency in engineering. For example, the
Afzalgunj bridge built in early 1900s is still very good compared to the new
bridge built about a decade ago. Similarly, the new bridge adjacent to the old
Chaderghat bridge is so low that it almost touches the river water and will not
stand a flood-like situation in the future,” he said.
