VIJAYAWADA: A short but intense spell of rain lashed Vijayawada on Thursday, offering brief relief from the sweltering heat but leaving several parts of the city waterlogged and choking under traffic snarls.
Eluru Road, Mogalrajpuram’s Jammi Chettu Centre, Polyclinic Road, Machavaram and the stretch near the PNBS bus stand were among the affected, with rainwater accumulating quickly on roads that could not drain the sudden downpour in time.
At Jammi Chettu Centre, the road turned into a stream of ankle-to-knee-deep water, with cars wading through half-submerged and two-wheeler riders slowing to a crawl as they splashed through.
Several commuters, including women and cyclists, were seen getting off and pushing their vehicles through the flooded stretch, while schoolchildren returning home picked their way along the narrow road divider to avoid stepping into the water.
On Polyclinic Road near the Mother Teresa statue, vehicles came to a standstill as traffic backed up along the busy junction, with two-wheelers packed bumper to bumper and such was the case from Siddhartha College to Mogalrajpuram.
Eluru Road, one of the city’s important commercial stretches, also saw water stagnation that slowed traffic movement, while similar waterlogging was seen in Machavaram and the PNBS bus stand area, inconveniencing commuters passing through.
Residents said the waterlogging, even after a short spell of rain, reflected drainage issues in these low-lying and traffic-heavy parts of the city, and called on civic authorities to look into the matter ahead of further rain this season.
