Telangana’s ‘death corridor’: Why Hyd-Chevella stretch keeps claiming lives - over 280 dead since 2018

The road is narrow, full of blind curves, and lacks basic safety features like dividers, crash barriers, and reflectors.

The Hyderabad-Chevella stretch of NH-163 has earned the grim title of a “death corridor” among locals due to a series of recent fatal accidents.

Between 2018 and December 2024, over 280 people have lost their lives on this 100-km stretch that passes through Chevella, Manneguda, Vikarabad, and Kodangal.

The road is narrow, full of blind curves, and lacks basic safety features like dividers, crash barriers, and reflectors. The surface is left cracked and uneven, turning it into one of Telangana’s most dangerous highways. According to 108 ambulance staff, the route witnesses six to seven accidents every day, many of them fatal.

“Every day we respond to at least seven emergency calls from this stretch. “At night, the potholes and broken patches are invisible. Many smaller accidents go unreported because victims just move on,” The Times of India quoted S Sangameshwar, an EMRI ambulance driver based in Chevella, as saying.

Even after major tragedies, accidents have not taken a halt. Hours after Monday’s horrific bus-truck collision that killed 19 people, another crash occurred near Tolkatta in Moinabad mandal when a bike hit a lorry during an overtake attempt.

Hospitals under pressure near Chevella

According to the TOI report, medical facilities near Chevella are constantly overwhelmed by the number of accident victims. The government hospital in Chevella, where several victims from the recent crash were taken, handles three to four accident cases every day.

“We get multiple cases daily, and serious ones are shifted to Vikarabad or Hyderabad,” said Dr Rajendra Prasad, the hospital superintendent.

Doctors and ambulance workers say the situation worsens at night when visibility is low and heavy vehicles speed unchecked. Emergency teams face delays in reaching victims because of traffic jams or lack of space to park ambulances along the narrow road.

Chevella locals demand urgent action

The Chevella locals say they have repeatedly appealed to authorities to widen and repair the road, but little has changed. “Everyone knows this is the most dangerous highway in Telangana. Officials keep citing environmental and clearance delays while people continue to die,” a local said.

Some blame the road expansion delays on activists who took the matter to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to protect roadside trees. “They saved trees, but people are losing their lives every day. How is that fair?” TOI quoted P Narsimhulu from Aloor village as saying.

The road, originally a single lane 25 years ago, was later widened to two lanes. But with today’s surge in traffic, the existing structure is no longer sufficient. “Now, only big crashes make news. The smaller accidents are so common that no one reacts anymore,” Narsimhulu added.

Until safety upgrades are implemented, which include widening, barriers, and lighting, the Hyderabad-Chevella stretch of NH-163 will continue to be a corridor where accidents occur almost every day.