15‑year stall leaves Telangana’s Ghatkesar bridge unfinished, forcing 4‑km detour

The 700‑metre Ghatkesar rail‑cum‑road bridge in Telangana’s Medchal‑Malkajgiri district is still unfinished after 15 years, forcing locals to travel roughly four kilometres for a crossing that is only about 50 metres, The Hindu reported.

Why has the bridge remained incomplete for 15 years?

Administrative apathy, land‑acquisition and compensation disputes, limited funding and alleged contractor negligence have kept the project stalled, according to The Hindu. The bridge was conceived in 2012, when then Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy laid the foundation stone, but successive governments have been unable to resolve these issues. The railway portion was finished about a decade ago, yet the road component remains a work‑in‑progress.

How does the unfinished bridge affect daily life?

Residents must drive nearly four kilometres to cross a gap that is only 50 metres wide, splitting Ghatkesar into two halves, The Hindu said. "We have to travel about four km for a distance of barely 50 metres," resident Sara Srinivas Goud told the newspaper. Local shop owners such as Rapolu Venkateshwarlu of Hema Medical Store and Kummari Venkateshwarlu of a kirana shop note that businesses suffer as the detour disrupts traffic and footfall.

What are residents and political groups demanding?

An all‑party Joint Action Committee (JAC) has organized multiple bandhs and warned it will block the Hyderabad‑Warangal highway if the bridge is not completed, The Hindu reported. The JAC’s rally quoted, "Aren’t three governments and three Chief Ministers enough to complete this small project?" The committee’s protests reflect growing frustration with three successive chief ministers—N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Ch Malla Reddy and A Revanth Reddy—who have overseen the stalled Rs 35 crore project.