VIJAYAWADA: Incessant rains caused due to cyclone Gulab lashed the city and brought normal life to a screeching halt. The rain, which started in the late hours on Sunday, continued till Monday afternoon and led to massive traffic jams.
The sudden downpour also inundated many low-lying areas and arterial roads and residential areas such as Moghalrajpuram, Rotary Nagar, Vidyadharapuram, Ajith Singh Nagar, Chitti Nagar, APIIC Colony and Gunadala were flooded.
Large pools of water were formed on the roads causing inconvenience for pedestrians and vehicle users. Similarly, the areas behind Pandit Nehru Bus Station were waterlogged and many had to wade through ankle-deep water. A huge boulder rolled down from the hillocks of Chitti Nagar, triggering panic among residents. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Upon receiving the information about the boulder, leaders of Left Parties visited the locality and took strong exception against the municipal corporation authorities for not taking concrete measures during heavy rains. Besides, small boulders also rolled down near Chitti Nagar tunnel and disrupted vehicular traffic for a while. Police personnel and civic body staff swung into action, cleared the debris from the spot and streamlined the traffic.
Meanwhile, VMC Commissioner V Prasanna Venkatesh along with MLA Malladi Vishnu and Mayor Rayana Bhagya Lakshmi inspected the low lying areas such as MG Road, BRP Road, Vinchipeta, Chitti Nagar, Milk Project area, Bhavanipuram, HB Colony, Urmila Nagar, Krishna Lanka and Eluru Road. The civic body chief directed the engineering department officials to arrange motors for clearing out the stagnated water on the roads. They also directed the officials to focus on clearing garbage accumulated in drains and stream line the flow of water to prevent the low lying areas from being inundated.
Mayor Bhagya Lakshmi proceeded to Chitti Nagar and inspected the locality after boulders rolled down from the hillocks. She directed the officials concerned to provide alternate accommodation for the residents staying in the area. VMC chief engineer M Prabhakar Rao, and other officials were also present.
Residents shifted
The Mayor inspected Chitti Nagar, after the boulder rolled down and directed the officials concerned to provide alternate accommodation for the residents living in the area.
Light showers in various parts of Guntur
Guntur: Due to the cyclone, various parts of Guntur received light showers on Sunday and Monday. On Monday, 8.5 mm of rainfall was recorded in the district with the highest of 42.4 mm in Amaravati. About 39 mandals received less than 10 mm rainfall. According to officials, no property loss was reported and the crops were not affected either. However, as a precaution, a high alert was sounded in the district and Collector Vivek Yadav instructed the officials to be vigilant. Fishermen were clearly instructed to not venture in the sea.