Hyderabad Cyclist's fall exposes city's manhole danger
Hyderabad: A cyclist sustained injuries after his bicycle wheel got stuck in a manhole grill in the Manikonda area of Hyderabad. The accident has sparked outrage and calls for safer city infrastructure from the local cycling community. The incident is being blamed on what cyclists call ‘poorly designed and dangerous’ manholes that plague the city's roads.
Narrating the experience to Hyderabadmail, G Bhasker, a software engineer and a cyclist who met with an accident, said, “The day before yesterday in the evening, I was on my way to the gym. It was drizzling. I was cycling at around 10 kilometres per hour. When I reached the spot near Marri chettu junction,Manikonda, the manhole was covered with a grill and also covered with mud. Due to which I didn’t realise the presence of the manhole as it was not visible to the naked eye. My bicycle's front tyre got stuck in the grill, and I lost my balance, fell down, and sustained an injury to my left leg.
Further, Bhasker added that if he had been cycling at a higher speed, the consequences could have been more severe. “If I had been cycling at around 20 kilometres per hour, it would have been a complete disaster for me,” he said.
Drawing attention to the reason behind his tumble, Bhasker said, “The grills are placed parallel to the road, if they had been placed across the road, an accident wouldn't have occurred”. 
Community response and Broader concerns
The incident prompted an immediate reaction from the local cycling community on the social media platform 'X' (formerly Twitter). A post from the Bicycle Mayor of Hyderabad, Santhana Selvan, highlighted the danger such infrastructure poses to cyclists and pedestrians and called for an overhaul.
Bicycle Mayor of Hyderabad, Santhana Selvan, raised concerns about the recurring risk, especially during monsoons, from hidden, open, or grill-covered manholes. “We are in a country where a lot of people who are below the poverty line either walk or cycle,” Selvan said.
He emphasized that road design often prioritizes cars and other vehicles, neglecting the safety of pedestrians and cyclists, who form a majority of commuters from lower-income groups. “Although the majority of the people in the country and state were below the poverty line income group who mostly afford to cycle or walk for doing their daily activities like milkmen and newspaper boys. They are not being considered in designing the roads. Only cars and other vehicles are given preference during the design stage. This has to stop. It is important for a comprehensive review and scientific overhaul of road infrastructure to make Hyderabad's streets safe for everyone,” added Selvan.
Our fellow family member and brother from #CyclingCommunityOfHyderabad is hurt badly today due to such man holes and less scientific/practical for a commuter with a #Bicycle
Request for careful consideration into this matter because this can cause danger to #Pedestrians too… pic.twitter.com/vQidgenUjg
— Bicycle Mayor of Hyderabad (@sselvan) September 19, 2025
The online post tagged the Commissioner of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (@CommissionrGHMC), the Telangana Chief Minister's Office (@TelanganaCMO), Chief Minister Revanth Anumula, and the Principal Secretary of Municipal Administration (@PrlsecyMAUD), urging them to address the issue.
