Hyderabad rains reach 4-yr high at 13 cm; city roads remain water-clogged

Retreat of the southwest monsoon was delayed by three weeks this year, the IMD had said earlier

Hyderabad recorded 13 centimetres of rain over a period of five hours as heavy rains lashed the city after a cloudburst on Monday evening.

People returning to the city after the end of a festive season were stranded in the outskirts of Hyderabad as traffic came to a grinding halt on all highways connecting the capital city of Telangana. Several roads, colonies and the low-lying areas remained water-logged until late night on Monday due to poor drainage.

City dwellers opted to stay indoors, thereby, averting a nightmarish experience on a public holiday. However, road routes that remain busy such as the one connecting the city's IT corridor have been witnessing hours of traffic jam since Friday.

Traffic movement in the city was already in bad shape and the recent downpour has made things worse.

Due to the heavy rains, almost half of the 185 lakes and other water bodies under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation(GHMC) have been overflowing. Flooding from water bodies has inundated several low-lying colonies in the city, said the officials.

Emergency teams of GHMC were pressed into service to clear the obstacles and restore power supply in several areas. GHMC has set up health camps in water-logged areas. Chief Minister K Chandra Sekhara Rao has directed the senior officials to closely monitor the relief operations.

On Tuesday, several IT companies reported late attendance of staff owing to long-lasting traffic jam in the aftermath of yesterday's (Monday's) rains and flooding. "We had to cancel our 11 am meeting as people were late," said a senior executive of an IT services company located in Hitech City.

Last year the state government had assured the IT companies that it would take special steps to improve the road network, strengthen infrastructure and remove bottlenecks in and around the IT corridor to ensure a smooth flow of traffic. But little has changed in and around the Hitech City, Kondapur, Gachibowli and the financial district, where more than 400,000 software employees work and are dependent on public transport to reach their respective workstations.

On Monday night, city roads were covered with water up to 4-5 feet deep in several areas. Several public transport buses and other vehicles got stuck on the roads as water entered the engines. On Tuesday too, several places, including those in the heart of the city, remained water-logged.

This was the highest rainfall recorded on a single day during this time of the year. Around 10-cm rainfall was recorded in the month of September in 2013- the highest figure until now.

Rainfall got extended till October this time as the southwest monsoon is yet to retreat. Rains are expected to continue for a couple of days, according to the local weather centre.

Heavy rains in the catchment areas have also caused flooding in the Musi River, which passes through the city, in the downstream areas according to the reports. At least 7 rain-related deaths have been reported in the city and adjoining districts in the last 24 hours.