A traffic bottleneck outside Sarath City Capital Mall in Kondapur has become one of Hyderabad’s worst congestion hotspots, with motorists spending up to two hours negotiating a few hundred metres during peak hours. The situation has escalated to the point where Cyberabad authorities have warned the mall management to address the issue or face action, including the possibility of a closure notice.
The choke point sits on the Gachibowli–Miyapur road, one of Hyderabad’s busiest arterial corridors that carries around 1.2 lakh vehicles every day. Despite the construction of a 22-ft-wide underpass last year connecting the mall’s parking area to the main road, congestion continues to spill over from the mall entrance to Botanical Garden junction and up to the Radisson Hotel, disrupting movement along the entire corridor.
Traffic on six lanes squeeze into two lanes
“Three lanes of traffic coming from the Botanical Garden side combine with another three lanes exiting the mall parking. This six-lane traffic is forced into just two lanes between the mall and the Kothaguda junction, where the available carriageway suddenly narrows. That is the primary reason for the long traffic queues,” explained Gachibowli Traffic Inspector Gona Suresh.
Gachibowli Traffic Police managing traffic in front of Sarath City Capital Mall in Kondapur.
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The problem is compounded by the absence of a dedicated pick-up and drop-off facility for cabs and autorickshaws. Thousands of shoppers wait for rides directly outside the mall entrance while cabs and autos queue on the carriageway, occupying valuable road space.
“Although the road in front of the mall has four lanes, more than two lanes are occupied by waiting autos and cabs. Visitors gathering near the entrance slow vehicle movement further, making entry into the mall difficult and blocking another lane of traffic,” the officer said.
1.5 lakh – 2.5 lakh footfall on weekends
According to Cyberabad Taffic Police estimates, the mall attracts between 50,000 and 60,000 visitors on an average day, besides employing around 3,500 to 4,500 people. Weekend footfall rises to between 1.5 lakh and 2.5 lakh visitors, with nearly 1.5 lakh to 1.8 lakh people arriving during the peak evening hours between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. During festive periods, daily footfall exceeds three lakh, while more than six lakh visitors turned up during last Christmas alone.
For commuters, these numbers translate into long delays. Several visitors reported spending between 45 minutes and one-and-a-half hours just to exit the parking facility, while crossing the stretch outside the mall can take nearly two hours during peak periods.
“It took me 40 minutes just to get out of the mall parking and onto the road, and another 25 minutes to clear the stretch. A whole hour wasted on one lane,” a commuter wrote on Reddit. Another said, “It took me 45 minutes to come out of the mall parking. I vowed never to visit the mall again or even travel on that road.”
Traffic police regularly clear illegally parked vehicles and issue challans for obstructing the carriageway. However, officials say the exercise is proving counterproductive.
“When we move the vehicles away, many drivers simply take a U-turn at Botanical junction and return to the same spot. That creates another bottleneck at the junction itself, where traffic from Cyber Towers and Miyapur is already converging, with congestion often stretching up to the Radisson Hotel,” an official said.
Recognising the worsening situation, Cyberabad traffic police and municipal authorities have conducted multiple joint inspections over the past week to identify long-term solutions.
Cyberabad Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sunpreet Singh along with officials from Gachibowli traffic wing inspecting the premise on July 6, 2026.
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Officials said the underpass constructed last year eased congestion inside the parking area but failed to resolve traffic outside the mall. Traffic police have now proposed an underpass or inlet ramp from the Botanical Garden side leading directly to the B1 parking level as a dedicated pick-up and drop-off point for cabs and autorickshaws, allowing vehicles to exit through the existing ramp without stopping on main carriageway.
The parking to road ramp at Sarath City Mall in Kondapur.
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The proposal follows the rejection of the mall management’s request for a direct entry from the main carriageway into the parking, with municipal authorities saying it would consume more than one-third of the available carriageway.
Traffic police have also proposed constructing a skywalk linking the mall to the opposite side of the road so that passengers can meet cabs and autorickshaws away from the entrance. Officials estimate the move could shift 40% of waiting commuters away from the frontage and significantly ease congestion.
Alongside these measures, authorities are identifying commercial buildings, religious structures and other encroachments along the Gachibowli–Miyapur corridor that have narrowed the carriageway at several locations. Officials say notices are expected to be issued for their removal to widen the carriageway and improve traffic flow.
Published – July 07, 2026 04:13 pm IST
