VIJAYAWADA: A sudden downpour accompanied by thunderstorms pounded Vijayawada throwing life out of gear on Wednesday. The torrential rain left several arterial roads, including Eluru Road, Bandar Road, and Nakkal Road, completely inundated. The rain, which began at around 4 PM, continued for more than four hours and caused severe inconvenience to the public as several low-lying areas were submerged in water. More than 50 residential colonies on the outskirts of the city resembled canals.
Drains turned into rivers in several pockets as they overflowed on the streets. In residential areas where the inner roads lack a drainage system, waterlogging makes it difficult for vehicles to navigate in the city.
The downpour caused traffic disruption in One Town, Ajith Singh Nagar, Governorpet, Bhavanipuram, Chittinagar, Panja Centre, Old RR Pet, Satyanarayanapuram, Krishna Lanka, Moghalrajpuram, Yanamalakuduru, Vambay colony, Madhura Nagar, Gunadala, Ramavarappadu Junction, Rani Gari Thota and other low lying areas due to waterlogging.
With most of the major roads inundated, Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) officials swung into action to clear the roads using dewatering pumps. The poor condition of the roads worsened the situation even more as commuters struggled to identify potholes on the waterlogged roads. In One-town, Wynchipet area, and Bhavanipuram, the roadside vendors faced difficulty as temporary shops were inundated. Several roads in the city were under a sheet of water for hours and people had to wade through these waterlogged roads.
On the other hand, rainwater stagnated in areas like PNBS junction, low bridge junction at Kaleswara Rao market, railway station road, and Auto Nagar only added to the trouble for vehicular movement. After a few vehicles got stuck in the rainwater near PNBS junction, the traffic police had to shut the road leading to Prakasam barrage, which resulted in congestion at KR Market junction.
The stretch from Rajiv Gandhi Park to Krishna Lanka police station was completely submerged. In order to avoid vehicles being struck in the potholes, two-wheelers were diverted via the VMC office till the water was clear. Meanwhile, the municipal and electricity officials also received complaints regarding water stagnation at various points in the city.