HYDERABAD: Hyderabad spent Wednesday under a dull, unyielding sky as Cyclone Montha skirted past the city — sparing it the worst but soaking it in relentless rain. While districts across Telangana battled floods, the city stayed drenched and uneasy through the day, with Musheerabad recording the highest rainfall at 4.35 cm.
By dawn, the IT corridor at Raidurgam had turned into a slow-moving stream of honking vehicles and blinking headlights. Office-goers sat trapped in traffic for hours, rainwater creeping up tyres as the city’s drainage struggled to cope. In Rajendranagar near Suncity, the main road disappeared under muddy water. Commuters stood waiting as a few good Samaritans waded through the stretch to help push stranded scooters and cars.
Markets across the city stayed quiet. Stalls were draped in plastic sheets that flapped in the wind, and street vendors crouched under makeshift covers, guarding what little they could. In quieter lanes, residents watched the rain slide down their windows, the air thick with the familiar scent of rain-soaked streets.
By evening, the rain eased slightly, but the streets still gleamed with puddles and flickering traffic lights. Hyderabad may have escaped the cyclone’s full fury, yet the day left the city tired and drenched — a reminder of how easily rain can bring life here to a pause.