MADURAI: Heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning was witnessed in the city on Sunday evening. Many roads, especially in the heart of the city around Meenakshi Amman temple were waterlogged owing to the rains and disrupted pedestrian and vehicular movement. The preparations for the welcoming of the 44th Chess Olympiad torch at MGR Race Course stadium were also affected as rain water stagnated at the premises.
Across Madurai district, brief spells of rain were witnessed in the last few days, especially in the evenings and night. On Sunday, around 5pm, there was heavy rain in both north and south areas of Madurai city, including Meenakshi Amman temple and surrounding areas, Vilakkuthoon, Periyar, Simmakkal, Tallakulam, Goripalayam among others. The rain was accompanied by strong winds as tress were uprooted on roads at a few places. The rain water also left the roads waterlogged which led to traffic being disrupted and piling up in a few places.
“Near Vilakkuthoon, the roads were full of stagnant water though the rains lasted for only around 30 minutes or so. Motorists and pedestrians had a tough time wading through it. Even these small spells of heavy rain are causing severe water logging,” said K Muthukrishnan, a trader.
