BACK TO SQUARE ONE: The foot overbridge at Mehdipatnam is set to make way for the elevated Expressway. — PHOTO: P.V. SIVAKUMAR

Hyderabad: Trust MCH the for short-sighted planning! The foot overbridge (FOB) constructed by it at Mehdipatnam Rythu Bazar is in for dismantling.

Opened barely six months ago with much fanfare, it is now an unwanted structure. Reason: the FOB is coming in the way of the proposed elevated Expressway.

Caught on the wrong foot, the corporation has decided to shift the FOB to Tolichowki. The exact spot where it is to be relocated is being identified. The Expressway is intended to provide speedy access to the international airport from the city.

Work on the longest expressway linking Mehdipatnam-Shamshabad airport has already begun and hence, the civic body is planning to shift the FOB at the earliest.

Cover-up job?

Officials at the corporation, however, try to cover up the bungling by dismissing the issue. "It is just a nut and bolt structure and shifting is no problem," says N.V.S. Reddy, Additional Commissioner.

When the Rs. 70-lakh FOB was planned at Mehdipatnam, the authorities did not expect the Expressway work beginning so soon. "We are not losing anything. The FOB is sponsored by a private firm and it will be asked to shift it to another location," Mr. Reddy says.

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