In an insightful conversation with The Pioneer, Lokendra Singh, also known as ‘Hyderabad Traffic Man,’ sheds light on his efforts to improve traffic safety and discipline in the city. For our special segment of Hyderabond, he also speaks of his association with Hyderabad, traffic scenes in the city and more
Tejal Sinha
In a city where traffic congestion is a daily struggle, Lokendra Singh has emerged as a key figure in promoting road safety and discipline. Originally from Rajasthan, Lokendra moved to Andhra Pradesh due to his father’s business and later completed his education at Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. In 2018, he relocated to Hyderabad, where his passion for traffic awareness and road safety took shape. Since 2021, he has been actively associated with the Hyderabad Traffic Police through the Hyderabad City Security Council (HCSC), a public-private partnership focused on traffic management, cybersecurity, women’s safety and anti-narcotics initiatives.
Lokendra began as a Traffic Farishte (volunteer), undergoing training in road safety and Basic Life Support (BLS) before becoming a key contributor to Hyderabad’s traffic management efforts. His initiatives focus on no honking, high beams, and lane discipline, going beyond traditional awareness campaigns like helmet checks and red-light violations. Despite being a software engineer at Broadridge, Lokendra devotes his free time to road safety initiatives. “I usually get three days off from work, and I use that time to manage traffic awareness activities,” he says.
His involvement in road safety advocacy deepened when he connected with experts through social media, leading to collaborative awareness campaigns. “Rather than repeating the usual messages about helmets and traffic signals, we focus on deeper issues like lane discipline, high beam misuse, and reducing honking. These small changes can significantly improve traffic management,” he explains.
Lokendra’s title, ‘Hyderabad Traffic Man’, was something he came up with himself. “When I started collaborating with various road safety experts, I noticed that each had a unique identity. For example, Naresh Raghavan is known as ‘Top Driver India’, and Harsha leads ‘Team RoadSquad’. There’s also Krishna Chaitanya, who is called ‘Drive Safe Defensive Driver’. I wanted to create my own identity in this space, so I gave myself the title of ‘Hyderabad Traffic Man’,” he shares.
Having worked closely with the Hyderabad Traffic Police, Lokendra has identified key issues in the city’s traffic management. One major concern is the lack of proper signage boards. “Hyderabad has very few clear, standardized signage boards. Even when signs exist, they are often in the form of banners instead of proper road signs,” he points out.
Citing an example, he says, “The signage boards near the IKEA rotary at Mindspace are placed in banner format. This is not in line with the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) standards and poses a risk to commuters.”
Another major issue, according to Lokendra, is the absence of directional arrows on roads. “In cities like Mumbai and Delhi, roads have pre-indicating arrows so that vehicles can position themselves correctly before a turn. Hyderabad lacks these, leading to last-minute confusion, rash lane-cutting, and traffic slowdowns,” he says.
One of his most alarming observations is the lack of synchronized signal patterns, especially on long stretches of road. He shares a detailed example of a 9.8-kilometer stretch from the Outer Ring Road (ORR) at Gachibowli to Jubilee Hills Checkpost, which has zero functional traffic signals.
“This entire route – from the ORR, through Narsingi, Shilpa Layout flyover, IKEA rotary, Mindspace, Inorbit Mall, Durgam Cheruvu cable bridge, and finally to Jubilee Hills Checkpost – does not have a single functional signal. This leads to excessive speeding, as vehicles that exit the ORR at 100 km/h continue at high speeds on city roads. By the time they reach Jubilee Hills Checkpost, congestion becomes inevitable because the junction wasn’t designed to handle that level of traffic accumulation.”
According to Lokendra, this lack of speed regulation and lane discipline enforcement leads to long queues at Jubilee Hills Checkpost, where ideally 150 vehicles should pass per signal cycle, but 400-600 vehicles pile up instead.
Lokendra believes Hyderabad’s traffic police force is understaffed, leading to many signal-free junctions. “The Hyderabad Traffic Police is short on personnel, which is why we see so many signal-free junctions. Without enforcement, drivers overspeed, ignore lane discipline, and break rules, causing traffic bottlenecks,” he says.
Despite its traffic challenges, Lokendra sees Hyderabad as one of India’s most progressive cities. “Hyderabad is booming in IT and pharmaceuticals, and the roads here are wider and better maintained than in Bengaluru,” he says.
However, he points out glaring weaknesses in pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. “Every pedestrian has a fundamental right to walk safely, but in areas like Ameerpet, Begum Bazar, Sultan Bazar, and Koti, walking is a nightmare because of street vendors occupying footpaths. Hyderabad urgently needs better pedestrian infrastructure.”
He also highlights the lack of sustainable mobility options. “There was a plan to build cycling tracks along Deloitte and Mehdipatnam, but it was dismantled before completion. Sustainable mobility is still missing in Hyderabad.”
For Lokendra, Hyderabad is a place where he has grown personally and contributed significantly. He appreciates how open the government is to feedback from citizens. “Unlike many other states, Hyderabad’s government and Traffic Police are very proactive. They invite citizens like me for meetings to provide feedback and suggestions, which shows their willingness to improve,” he says.
When asked what he loves most about Hyderabad, Lokendra says, “The food, the people and the places. Everything about Hyderabad is amazing.”
As for what he hopes to improve, he remains focused on pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. “We need dedicated pedestrian zones and cycling tracks. Roads should be designed with not just vehicles, but also pedestrians and cyclists in mind,” he emphasizes.
As ‘Hyderabad Traffic Man,’ Lokendra Singh continues to push for a safer, more disciplined and well-managed traffic system in the city – one campaign at a time.
