Hyderabad city traffic chokes as rains catch commuters off-guard

HYDERABAD: Sudden intense rain spells on Saturday caught the city off-guard and threw traffic in absolute chaos across the major commercial and residential areas and routes.

After a bright morning, the city witnessed rains in the afternoon, mainly affecting those who were planning to quickly leave the city for their native towns at the beginning of the long Dasara holiday.

Himayatnagar, Mehdipatnam, Masab Tank, Lakdikapul, Nanalnagar, Tolichowki, Shaikpet, Attapur, Aramgarh, Begumpet, Ameerpet, Punjagutta, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Sanathnagar, Cheralappy, Uppal, Moula Ali, Tarnaka, Bollaram, Neredmet, Kapra, AS Rao Nagar, Malkajgiri, Shamshabad, Khairatabad, Somajiguda, Quthbullapur, Jeedimetla, Kukatpally, Alwal, Nizampet, Balanagar, Moosapet, Secunderabad, Rajeev Nagar, Moti nagar, Rajendranagar, Charminar, Falaknuma, Abids, Koti received light to intense rain spells for a short duration.

As many roadsides were water-logged, pedestrians struggled to get through the roads. An elderly woman caught in a heavily water-logged road in Rajendranagar had to be rescued by the traffic police

Heavy traffic jams were reported at multiple locations like Hitec City, Gachibowli, Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills, Raidurgam, Madhapur, Lingampally, Kukatpally, Balanagar, Erragadda, Tolichowki, Nampally, Marredpally, SD Road, RP Road, Tank Bund, Masab Tank, Khairatabad, Begumpet, Uppal, Patancheru, areas of old city, Ameerpet, Chandrayangutta, DRDO, Mehdipatnam, Asifnagar, including flyovers, where the vehicles crawled to get through the roads.

The traffic congestion continued through the evening even after the rains receded, giving no relief to commuters.

According to IMD, light to moderate thunderstorms are very likely to occur at isolated places over the state in the next 24 hours.