Cyberabad police switch off signals amid rain-induced traffic gridlock

Heavy rains in Hyderabad caused major traffic congestion in the IT corridor. While motorists blamed signal failures, Cyberabad Traffic Police said signals were switched off for manual control to manage congestion. Authorities say lessons have been learnt for future rains.

Hyderabad: Heavy rains that lashed parts of Hyderabad on Monday evening left hundreds of commuters stranded in long traffic snarls, particularly along the city’s busy IT corridor, leading to criticism over the functioning of traffic management systems during peak hours.

Several motorists alleged that automatic traffic signals at some junctions were not functioning, adding to the congestion and increasing travel times. However, Cyberabad Traffic Police clarified that the signals were intentionally switched off at some locations as part of a traffic management strategy during the downpour.

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According to officials, the decision was taken at points witnessing severe vehicle congestion, especially near U-turns, where automatic signal cycles were found to be less effective in handling the sudden surge in traffic.

“Due to the massive downpour and heavy influx of vehicles at the same time, we had to stop the automatic signals and immediately switch to manually regulating traffic at some points. This helped traffic clearance more effectively,” said Pavan Mayasa, Inspector, Raidurgam Traffic Police Station.

He said traffic personnel, including inspectors, sub-inspectors, traffic marshals and home guards, remained on the roads until midnight to ensure clearance of traffic.

Meanwhile, reports claimed that routes were cleared for VIP politicians and senior officials while commuters remained stuck in traffic. Responding to the allegations, traffic police said even HYDRAA Commissioner A V Ranganath was caught in the congestion for nearly an hour at Raidurgam before being provided route clearance.

“Being the chief of Hydraa, he had to visit various locations during the rains. He was proceeding towards Lingampally on official duty when he got stuck in traffic for nearly one hour. We had to clear his route as he was on duty,” Pavan said.

Cyberabad Traffic Police maintained that lessons were learnt from the recent rains, and efforts are on to improve traffic management during future weather-related emergencies.