Rains Turns Nightmares For Many In Hyderabad

The heavy rains that lashed the Telangana capital on Friday night caused a nightmare for several citizens with low-lying areas getting inundated and many roads and thoroughfares turning into mini-lakes throwing normal traffic into turmoil.

The sudden downpour which started last evening once again caused havoc in most parts of the GHMC limits. The Balanagar and Madhapur areas recorded the highest rainfall of 12 cm in four hours, while many other areas recorded between 5 cm and 11 cm. In many colonies the overflowing drain waters entered many apartments inundating the cellars. Sridhar Colony and NMDC Colony in Malkajgiri, Bandipur layout, were inundated with knee-deep water.

Uprooting of huge trees was reported in 18 places in the GHMC limits. And as usual, the heavy downpour also led to power breakdowns for hours together, in 30 places.

Residents of Dharani Nagar in Allywn Colony of Kukatpally spent an agonizing night with the nearby nala carrying chemical effluents causing foam to enter the houses due to the heavy breeze, leading to a stink and breathing problems for residents in the entire area.

Though the GHMC authorities swung into action by setting up 120 special teams to clear the roads and localities by draining out the stagnated water, the magnitude of the havoc was so immense that many areas continued to remain water-logged even on Saturday.

The Punjagutta flyover was water-logged creating a huge traffic jam. Similar traffic snarls were reported in many areas, and the motorists were subjected to severe hardships. One of the reasons for the rain water drains getting blocked leading to overflowing on roads and localities was the dumping of garbage, especially plastic bags and other material. The municipal staff faced a Herculean task in clearing the plastic bags and materials to ensure free flow of the rain water.

What is intriguing is that many damaged roads which were repaired and potholes which were filled after strict instructions from Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao, were washed away by the rains thanks to the stop-gap maintenance works, and also created more dangers.

Friday was also Ganesh Chaturthi, and the heavy rains in the evening played spoilsport for devotees planning to visit the Ganesh pandals in their localities. In some places the temporary structures at the pandals collapsed.