Hyderabad: Heavy rains, accompanied by strong winds, lashed several parts of Hyderabad and its surroundings on Friday, affecting normal life.
The heavy spell of pre-monsoon showers during the evening hours provided some relief from the heat, but it also caused inconvenience to people by throwing vehicular traffic out of gear and disrupting the electricity supply.
The rains led to waterlogging on roads at busy junctions, resulting in traffic jams. People returning home from offices and workplaces were stranded.
The strong winds uprooted trees in a few places and also resulted in the disruption of the electricity supply.
An electric transformer exploded after a big tree fell on it in Red Hills area in Nampally. There were no casualties in the incident.
A tree fell on the road in front of PG Law College in Basheerbagh, causing a traffic jam. Trees also fell on the road between Upper and Lower Tank Bund, leading to a traffic jam.
Two electricity poles were damaged when a tree fell on them in Bapunagar colony in Langar Houz.
A crane at an under-construction building in the busy Moazzamjahi Market area also collapsed due to strong winds. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Areas in the old city, central parts of the city, Secunderabad, and Cyberabad received heavy rains.
There was a heavy traffic jam from Begumpet to Panjagutta, a key road connecting the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
A massive traffic jam was also seen in Madhapur in the IT hub of Cyberabad. Vehicles were moving at a snail’s pace at the IKEA underpass and at Raidurgam. Employees returning from IT companies in the IT clusters of HITEC City and Gachibowli were caught in the stalled traffic.
Rain water and overflowing drainages led to inundation of roads and the traffic police personnel had a tough time in regulating the traffic.
According to the Telangana Development Planning Society, Bandlaguda area received maximum rainfall of eight centimetres. Bahadurpura recorded 7.8 cm rainfall and Charminar 7.6 cm. It was 7 cm in Nampally, 5 cm in Amberpet, and 4.4 cm in Khairatabad.
Heavy rains lashed areas like Panjagutta, Ameerpet, Gachibowli, Secunderabad, Begumpet, Miyapur, Kondapur, Mehdipatnam, Masab Tank, Nampally, Lakdi Ka Pul, Basheerbagh, Koti, Rajendranagar, Malakpet, and Saroornagar.
Traffic policemen were seen clearing waterlogging on several roads. The police had advised commuters not to travel unless it was an emergency.
Teams of the Hyderabad Disaster Response Force and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) also swung into action to remove fallen trees. Officials said trees fell at 21 places. Cranes were also pressed into service to remove fallen trees at a few places.
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