Hyderabad was completely thrown off-gear on Wednesday evening, 16 September, due to a sudden downpour. Waist-deep rainwater was witnessed on the Tolichowki and Shaikpet main road practically stalling the traffic for several hours until the Hyderabad police drained the water by breaking the dividers and unclogging the drains.
Several vehicles were submerged in the overflow in Tolichowki, Shaikpet and Attapur. In Attapur under PVNR Expressway, motorists left their cars to save themselves as the road was totally submerged and the water level rose to the height of the cars.
The rain was so severe that two-wheelers in Gudimalkapur were being washed away. Due to the water inundation on the Tolichowki main road, the traffic going towards Gachibowli was severely affected.
Apologising for the inconvenience caused, Hyderabad police commissioner Anjani Kumar, tweeted, “Heavy rains near Tolichowki area. The waterlogging on the street was cleared by breaking the street divider. The traffic cops tried their best. Still, there was so much water that it caused inconvenience to citizens. We regret to the kids whose parents were held up in this jam.”
Roads were flooded in Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Ameerpet, Koti, Dilsukhnagar, LB Nagar, Abids, Basheerbagh, Begumpet, Khairatabad and Secunderabad.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) pressed its disaster response force teams into action to attend to the complaints of waterlogging. The teams were trying to pump out water even as overflowing drainages made their task difficult.
Municipal officials appealed to the people to remain indoors. Police diverted traffic at Biodiversity Park as the road leading towards Mehdipatnam from Gachibowli was inundated.
According to the Telangana State Development Planning Society (TSDPS) -- the state’s weather forecasting website Shaikpet recorded 10.5 cm rainfall. In Hyderabad, Bahadurpura recorded the highest rainfall at 10.10 cm, followed by Shaikpet at 10.5 cm.
Two persons were also killed due to the heavy rains in Medipally. According to police, the wall of a temple collapsed on them when they were crossing it on a motorbike.
Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a four-day weather warning until Saturday, 12 September. The IMD forecast that thunderstorms accompanied by lightning are very likely to occur at isolated places over Telangana from Thursday to Saturday.
In the state, Nagarkurnool recorded the highest rainfall of 19 cm on Wednesday, 16 September. The other districts which received heavy rainfall include Siddipet, Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Karimnagar, Medak, Mahabubnagar, Wanaparthy, and Jogulamba Gadwal.
(This article has been republished in arrangement with The News Minute)
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