Citizens, activists question flyover-led development near Hyderabad’s KBR Park

Citizens, urban planners, environmental activists and artists gathered at Lamakaan in Hyderabad on Sunday (May 24, 2026) for an event titled ‘Gridlocked: H-CITI, Traffic, KBR and More’, where participants questioned the city’s continued reliance on flyovers as a solution to traffic congestion and raised concerns over the ecological impact of infrastructure expansion around KBR National Park.

The event featured a photography exhibition, public discussions, music and performances centred on what organisers described as the ‘flyover myth’ in Hyderabad. The organisers said the exhibition attempted to highlight what they termed the “normalisation of congestion” despite continuous construction of elevated corridors and flyovers.

Ambica Srimal, organiser of Gridlocked, said Hyderabad’s traffic situation had continued to worsen despite the rapid pace of flyover construction. She argued that urban planning should prioritise people rather than vehicles and criticised infrastructure projects.

Environment advocate Kaajal Maheshwari alleged that an ecologically important walkway was being reduced to accommodate flyover infrastructure. Civil engineer Vijay Mallangi referred to international cities such as Bogotá, Seoul, Amsterdam, Zurich and Singapore, arguing that many cities that successfully tackled congestion had done so without relying heavily on additional flyovers.

Urban planner Varun Phadke referred to the ‘3-30-300’ urban planning concept, which advocates visible trees near homes, 30% neighbourhood canopy cover and accessible green spaces within 300 metres. He said Hyderabad currently failed to meet these benchmarks while continuing to lose trees for infrastructure projects.