A spell of rain that began at 9 a.m. sent people scurrying for cover and upset travel plans of commuters. By 3 p.m., Kukatpally had logged 7.4 cm of rainfall.
The rainfall was intense in the western and north-western areas of the city, with southern areas like Rajendra Nagar, Asif Nagar, and Bandlaguda receiving under 2 cm of rainfall.
By 8 p.m. Balanagar, Jeedimetla, Hafeezpet and Gajularamaram recorded over 10 cm of rainfall. Moosapet and Rajendranagar recorded over 9 cm of rainfall.
The flooded streets and inundated flyover ramps, coupled with uneven roads, made driving a stressful experience. Traffic gridlocks spilled over late into the afternoon with travel time increasing by 16 minutes on Ameerpet-Panjagutta-MJ Market stretch and SP Road. Mehdipatnam-Masab Tank road faced a nine-minute delay while the normally free-flowing traffic on Tank Bund was slowed down by eight minutes. Multiple flyovers on Old Bombay Highway did not help matters with delays of 13 minutes. The Gachibowli and Miyapur stretches were freer, with a six-minute delay.
Hyderabad Traffic Police took to social media to warn about traffic delays. “Slow movement of traffic from Starbucks, Apollo Hospital lane, BVB Jn., Journalist Colony towards Road No. 45,” the department posted at 1.25 p.m.
The situation deteriorated by evening as spells of heavy rain continued to batter the city. Flooding in the inner areas of Ameerpet before the Metro Station and water-logging near Begumpet had a cascading effect on traffic with online maps showing a delay of 87 minutes on the stretch.
“We are unable to step out of our homes from afternoon as the water is flowing like a river in front of our house. Luckily, it hasn’t entered our home yet,” said a resident of Godavari Homes in Qutbullapur area. The houses in the area are on the fringes of the Vennelagadda Cheruvu.
Vivekananda Nagar, a few wards in Cantonment area, Madhapur, Gurumoorthy Lane in Begumpet, Moosapet Metro Station, Nizampet, and a 100-metre stretch between Khairatabad Metro Station and Lakdi-Ka-Pul were flooded, affecting everyday life.
