Hyderabad: Hyderabad’s 84 flyovers, built to ease congestion, have witnessed 656 accidents in the last three years. According to data provided by Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda commissionerates, 656 accidents happened on the flyovers between January 2023 and May 2025 and resulted in 126 deaths and 504 injuries, highlighting the safety gaps, especially the absence of CCTV coverage on the flyovers.According to the data obtained by Deccan Chronicle, the Hyderabad commissionerate recorded the highest number of incidents—291 accidents, including 43 fatal ones that led to 46 deaths and 235 injuries. Cyberabad followed with 228 accidents, resulting in 54 deaths and 162 injuries. Rachakonda saw 137 accidents, with 26 deaths and 107 injuries. In 2024, cases rose across all zones: Hyderabad logged 149, Cyberabad 99 and Rachakonda 66. Between January and May 2025, Cyberabad registered 56 accidents, Hyderabad 49 and Rachakonda 22.The data underscores how flyovers, meant to improve commute time, are emerging as accident-prone stretches, especially during non-peak hours and at night. Police attribute most of these accidents to overspeeding, despite speed limits of 40 kmph. “Rash driving, lack of lane discipline and inattentiveness are the main causes. Accidents often happen during off-peak hours when drivers tend to speed,” said V. Sreenivasulu, DCP (traffic), Rachakonda.The absence of dedicated CCTV cameras on flyovers continues to hinder investigations. Officers rely on traditional techniques such as examining skid marks, vehicle damage and eyewitness accounts. “Without camera footage, it becomes difficult to determine how the crash occurred or who was at fault,” a law and order officer said. However, the installation of the CCTV cameras must be taken up by the GHMC, point the officials.Meanwhile, the non-availability of CCTV cameras on the flyovers hinders the investigations and makes it difficult to ascertain how the accident took place or to identify whose fault it was. In the absence of footage, police rely on conventional methods such as assessing tyre skid marks, checking the direction of impact and examining the damage that is caused to vehicles. There will also be eye-witness accounts and calls to Dial 100, said a law and order police officer who happened to be carrying out the investigation.However,the joint commissioner of police (traffic), Hyderabad, Joel Davis clarified that while traditional CCTV surveillance is missing on most flyovers, high-rise cameras are in place. Adding further, the officer said, “Flyovers do not have public access points, so there are no nuisance or women safety issues there. These stretches are meant purely for vehicle movement and our cameras help us detect if an accident has occurred. If we notice a bottleneck or congestion at the previous junction or the junction ahead, or we also receive Dial 100 alerts or ambulance movements, which are indications of an incident.”High-rise surveillance points are active at Begumpet, Masab Tank, Telugu Talli, Greenlands, Punjagutta and parts of the PVNR Expressway. In May 2025, Hyderabad and Cyberabad police each added two drone cameras for aerial monitoring during peak hours and emergencies.Installation of CCTV infrastructure on flyovers falls under GHMC’s jurisdiction. Plans to equip the PVNR Expressway with surveillance are underway, but no timeline has been confirmed. Past incidents such as the 2019 crash off the Biodiversity flyover, continue to highlight the urgency of deploying effective surveillance. In that case, too, the absence of camera footage forced police to depend solely on eyewitness reports.BY Ravi Shankar Kumar
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