Food street near Hyderabad’s Durgam Cheruvu falls silent at 10 p.m.; traffic and safety concerns prompt restrictions on vendors’ business hours

At around 10 p.m. on Tuesday (April 7, 2026), an unusual calm settled over the otherwise busy ITC Kohenur stretch in Madhapur, a lane closely associated with Hyderabad’s late-night food culture. Stalls that would typically just be entering their peak hours were instead packing up, and traffic, once slowed by crowds and haphazard parking, moved steadily.

Until about a week ago, the one-kilometre stretch would remain active well past midnight. Office-goers, students and families gathered around carts serving dosas, rolls and quick snacks. Cars pulled up along the median and wherever space was available, while bikes lined the road edges. Passing through the area at night often meant a brief but unavoidable delay.