Rain throws life out of gear

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JUNE 30. Most of the city roads appeared like tributaries and low-lying areas got inundated as a result of heavy downpour which disrupted normal life in the twin cities on Friday. The met office recorded 6 cm rainfall between 8.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m.

There was knee-deep water at places like Mozamjahi Market, Basheerbagh, Lakdi-ka-pul, KCP Guest House, Kingsway, MG Road, Mettuguda and under the bridge near Railnilayam. Colonies like Satyanagar near Sheikpet, BS Makhta and several slums located in low-lying areas got flooded.

The problem of water stagnation was felt more acutely in areas like Somajiguda and Khairatabad because of the huge speed-breaker-like structures at the beginning of bylanes and also before the gates of individual houses constructed with an intention to stop flow of rainwater. As a result, rainwater got stagnated on roads, throwing vehicular traffic out of gear. The road-dividers only added to the misery of motorists.

The MCH emergency wing personnel were busy attending to distress calls and sending personnel to inundated areas to bail out water. According to Mohd. Ziauddin of the emergency cell, six teams, with pumpsets, were rushed to different parts of the city to attend to the waterlogging complaints.

Normal life came to a standstill and traffic jams were reported from several parts. Vehicles, mainly two-wheelers and autorickshaws, spluttered to a halt while negotiating the waterlogged areas. In the Barkatpura area, a tree got uprooted and fell near Tourist Hotel leading to disruption of vehicular traffic. The compound wall of a house collapsed. Last evening, an old building of the Government Primary School in Kotla Alija collapsed. Fortunately no one was present in the school when the mishap took place.

At KCP junction near RTA office, traffic coming from Krishna Oberoi came to a grinding halt as more than knee-deep water got logged at the trijunction. Drivers of a couple of cars, who tried to zoom through water, were in for a trouble as water entered the engines stalling them.

The downpour did not have much impact on the attendance in schools. There were reports of students reaching their schools late on account of traffic jams. There was, however, some respite in the afternoon.

According to Mr. C.V.V. Bhadram, Director, Meteorological centre, during the next 24 hours, moderate spells of rain could occur in the city. He said the low pressure area off Andhra coast in the Bay of Bengal moved towards Madhya Pradesh adjoining Telangana. Thus, monsoon was active over the State.

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Section  : Southern States
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