HYDERABAD: Heavy rain during peak hours caused one of the worst-ever traffic gridlocks in recent times and brought the city to a standstill on Friday. Almost all main corridors and secondary roads were waterlogged and jammed for hours. With traffic remaining jammed even after 9 pm, Hyderabad police commissioner M. Mahendar Reddy ordered law and order cops to help out the traffic police .
Power supply was affected in several areas due to heavy rain. Officials said it was restored in a majority of areas by 9 pm. Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) A.V. Ranganath appealed the people not to come out unless it was an emergency. “If it not essential, do not come on to the roads for two to three hours as traffic is moving very slowly on all the roads,” he said.
Vehicles that were stalled in the middle of the roads as water entered their engines, or moved to a side, only added to the traffic block. Instead of going down the stormwater drains, water was seen spouting out of drainage chambers.
A pedestrian walks through water on the Punjagutta road near Nims on Friday. (Photo: DC)
The roads resembled swimming pools for almost three hours. Poor road conditions all over the city tested the patience of motorists and Metro Rail works in some corridors added to the traffic problems.
Internal roads affected too
Roads cutting through the areas of Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills were the worst affected, followed by the Khaira-tabad-Ameerpet-Kukat-pally road, Lakdikapul, Masab Tank, Tolichowki to Lakdikapul and Punjagutta. Road numbers 1 and 12 of Banjara Hills, KBR Park rotary, Jubilee Hills checkpost and Road No. 36 of Jubilee Hills were also affected.
Almost the entire IT hub of Kondapur, Hitec City, Madhapur, the road from Gachibowli to IIIT and Miyapur were inundated too. Sardar Patel Road, Begumpet rail overbridge to Punjagutta via CM’s camp office and the stretch from the KCP junction to Masab Tank, MJ Market-Nampally, Koti to Nalgonda crossroads via Chaderghat, Nimboliadda to 6 No Junction were hit too. Traffic flow on the PVNR Expressway was also affected after a minor accident took place on Friday.
