The stone railings of the 445-year-old Purana Pool were demolished to widen the road. | Photo Credit: Serish Nanisetti
A section of the 445-year-old Musi River Bridge was damaged as part of a road widening project to ease traffic flow. Broken fragments of Puranapool’s stone railings were removed by civil authorities on Monday evening as local merchants protested the move. The police post and public toilet were also demolished due to the widening of the road. “Passengers give us a thumbs up and a good job as they pass this stretch. Traffic decreased by 60%. After six poles, including the traffic light, are moved, there will be no bottlenecks in the area,” said a traffic police officer on duty at the intersection where five roads merge. High Court traffic has an easier left turn at the intersection, making it much easier for vehicles to move.
We protested, but they used a digger to demolish it. I understand that they want to widen the road due to increased traffic. But why here? Why not on the other side? This is an old bridge. See the mark on the stone railing. They plan to demolish that as well,” says Mohammed Sarwar, whose street stall selling flowers and coconuts is now history.
“The shop was opened by my father. I don’t know what to do,” says Mohammed Jilani, who sold ginger and garlic on the sidewalk of the bridge.
This is not the end. They’ll be back for more. I’m afraid to go home at night,” says Rajender, who sold vegetables and flowers on the bridge as it was deemed unsafe for traffic, and a new parallel bridge called the Kuli Qutb Shah Bridge opened in 1992. The old bridge was built in 1992. In 1578, during the reign of Ibrahim Qutb Shah, major repairs were carried out after the devastating floods of 1820 and 1908. Although the bridge originally had 22 arches, some of the arches were filled in as the river’s flow decreased after two dams were built upstream. flood control measures.
