Heavy rain brings Hyderabad traffic to standstill

The Hindu

2 days ago

Heavy rains brought traffic to a grinding halt across several parts of Hyderabad on Monday evening, as waterlogged roads and peak-hour congestion left commuters stranded for hours.
The downpour, which began at around 4.30 p.m., quickly inundated key stretches in the city's West and Central zones. Anticipating trouble, the Cyberabad Police first issued an advisory urging early and staggered logouts from IT offices in view of the rainfall forecast. Minutes later, as roads began flooding and vehicle movement slowed dramatically, another advisory was issued asking companies to hold staff back till at least 5.45 p.m. to ease the pressure on the roads.
Despite these efforts, the combination of evening traffic and sudden waterlogging overwhelmed major corridors. The stretch from Raidurg metro station towards the Cyber Towers, the Ikea junction to Yashoda Hospital, and the route from JNTU to the Kukatpally Y-junction were gridlocked, with vehicles inching forward through standing water.
Inundation on internal roads and U-turns, particularly near underpasses and flyovers, added to the chaos. Major waterlogging was reported at exit 17 (Himayatsagar) of the Outer Ring Road (ORR), the Angara U-turn in Bachupally, Rajiv Gruhakalpa underpass, Zinkalawada, FCI road in Erragadda, and the pipeline road in Jeedimetla. Stretches near the Ramdev Baba Temple in Sanathnagar, Balanagar metro, Rajendranagar, and the Upparpally segment of Shivarampally also saw knee-deep water slowing traffic.
By 5 p.m., traffic across the western IT corridor was crawling. Long queues of vehicles extended along key stretches connecting office hubs to residential areas, as rainwater pooled around clogged nalas, blocked drains, and low-lying roads. Commuters reported that it took more than 45 minutes to cover less than 4 kilometres along the critical link roads.
Central Hyderabad, too, was badly hit. The Ameerpet to Panjagutta stretch was flooded, restricting movement across one of the city's busiest arteries. Bible House, Hyderguda, Barkatpura, KCP Junction, Chandrayangutta (Road No. 16), Banjara Hills Road No. 2, Shaikpet nala flyover, Moghal Ka Nala, and the Jubilee Hills checkpost towards Road No. 36 were all severely waterlogged.
The Mehdipatnam corridor became a pressure point, with vehicle movement slowing to a crawl between PV Narasimha Rao (PVNR) Expressway pillar no. 38 and the NMDC junction. The Masab Tank flyover and adjoining stretches towards Ayodhya Junction, Shadan College, Nirankari Bhavan and Khairatabad also saw heavy traffic.
Many took to social media to express frustration. 'India's fastest growing city brought to its knees with one rain… 3.8 km, 46 minutes and counting (sic),' wrote a commuter on X, posting a screenshot of their Google Maps route on Road No. 3, Banjara Hills.
The traffic police continued to share live updates on the ground situation throughout the evening, working in coordination with the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to manage vehicle flow and clear waterlogged stretches. Officers were deployed at key choke points to regulate movement and assist in redirecting traffic, while civic teams were pressed into service to pump out stagnant water and clear blocked drains.