Last Minute WFH Advisory Fails to Avert Traffic Chaos

Hyderabad: Cyberabad Police’s last-minute work-from-home advisory issued at 9.10 am on Tuesday failed to prevent the very chaos it aimed to avert, with thousands already en route or at their offices when the alert was made public.

Despite warnings of “heavy rains” and suggested remote working for July 22, offices functioned as usual, while roads clogged and tempers flared.

“It’s the same every day. What’s new?” said Vinay S., a commuter from Kondapur heading towards Jubilee Hills. “Whether it rains or not, the IKEA flyover is always jammed. They sent the alert when we were already stuck.”

Throughout the day, Cyberabad Traffic Police sent repeated messages about “slow movement” near IKEA flyover, Khajaguda to Shaikpet, and both sides of Khaitlapur ground. A patch of waterlogging at Krinss Villas in Narsingi reportedly worsened bottlenecks along the Outer Ring Road corridor.

“Traffic heading towards Kukatpally side is more jammed than that towards Banjara Hills or Begumpet,” said a police officer on field duty, adding that it was not raining on that stretch, but congestion had built up from early evening itself.

On-ground teams were deployed to coordinate with other civic departments to manage waterlogged areas, but with limited success. “We’re doing our best, but a real solution needs planning ahead, not reactive advisories,” said another traffic constable managing flow at Khajaguda junction.

By evening, the situation hadn’t improved much. Metro stations like Raidurg and Hitech City witnessed surging crowds. “Rain has stopped, but getting an auto or cab is a nightmare,” said Sandhya M., a tech employee at an IT firm in Gachibowli. The advisory, though well-meant, came too late to matter. For many commuters, it felt like déjà vu, a regular weekday rebranded as a rain emergency, without much rain to show for it.