HYDERABAD: Intermittent but strong spells of rainfall destabilised several parts of the city on Wednesday. At 10:30 pm, the highest rainfall was recorded at 91.3 mm at Uppal.
Traffic had come to a halt on many roads as they had become inundated with water — knee-deep at some places. Many pedestrians and commuters using two-wheelers were holed up in their offices, under Hyderabad Metro stations or at bus stands.
The worst affected areas were Uppal, LB Nagar, Alwal, Nampally, Jubilee Hills, Madhapur, Biodiversity Circle, Begumpet and Secunderabad. Matters were made worse when water from lifted structures such as Metro stations and flyovers accumulated on to the roads below. Earlier in the day, at 5 pm Cyberabad traffic police cautioned all IT companies, asking their employees to not leave in staggered batches or to stay until the rain stopped. Those depending on RTC buses were left stranded in overcrowded bus stops.
“We made two emergency exits on crucial roads at COD junction and at TCS Lemon Tree junction.
Both were opened to prevent a gridlock situation. By 8.30 pm, the initial gush of evening traffic had been cleared,” said Cyberabad DCP Vijay Kumar. However, situation at Kothaguda, Preston Mall, Santosh Dhaba, Pakwan Grand, Ayyappa Society and Road No 36 continued to be problematic for commuters.