Traffic congestion was the order of the day on the city’s motorways as waterlogging, gutted roads and sand heaps reduced vehicular traffic to a crawl in several parts due to torrential rains that began on Sunday afternoon.
The arterial Purana Pul to Aramghar Road was one of the worst affected as flyover construction work is going on at multiple spots on the stretch. The movement of heavy duty vehicles has damaged the road. At Shastripuram near Mir Alam Tank, a traffic police official was seen guiding vehicles after a large pothole turned the road treacherous. A similar situation prevailed at Bahadurpura near Nehru Zoological Park with just gravel on the stretch and traffic police manning the junction. At RP Road, police had to step in to clear a sewage line which had led to waterlogging in the area.
“Coming to college has become a big problem as the Falaknuma flyover has been closed for repair and other stretches of roads have become bad due to rain and construction debris,” said Sharwani, who teaches at a government college in the area.
Some citizens took to social media to highlight the problem in their respective localities. “Bahadurpura main road area has become very dangerous. The road is completely damaged due to rain and the muck is up to one foot but no action. We are facing problems while riding vehicles,” wrote Venkatesh Dhotre tagging the Mayor and other top officials of the civic administration.
The continuous rain with intermittent heavy showers due to the effect of Cyclone Gulab reduced visibility too. “Due to rain in the city, there may be waterlogging on the road which may cause traffic delays. So we request you to leave early towards your destinations and reach safely,” was the message sent out by Hyderabad City Police on social media platforms to alert citizens.
In the evening rush hour, traffic in the Lakdi-ka-Pul, Masab Tank, Banjara Hills, Panjagutta was gridlocked due to shrinking of carriageway near the Assembly due to the session, flooding near the CM’s Camp Office and flooded approach ramp of Somajiguda flyover.
