Hyderabad: Gachibowli records 12.35 cm rain; IT corridors choke under traffic

A sudden cloudburst-like downpour in Hyderabad on Thursday evening, with Gachibowli recording 12.35 cm rainfall in just a few hours, threw city life out of gear. Traffic snarls, waterlogging, and hours-long jams disrupted commutes across major roads and IT corridors

Hyderabad: A heavy downpour on Thursday evening, with Gachibowli receiving 12.35 cm of rainfall in just a few hours, brought Hyderabad to a standstill. The intense rain led to severe waterlogging and massive traffic gridlocks that lasted late into the night.

Motorists were stranded across key city roads, struggling to navigate through flooded stretches and bumper-to-bumper traffic. The worst-hit areas included Manikonda, Shaikpet, Gachibowli, and Raidurg, along with other parts of the busy IT corridor, where vehicles lined up for kilometres.

With city authorities largely absent from action on the ground, local youngsters stepped in to assist, guiding traffic and helping stuck motorists navigate flooded junctions.

Employees returning from work bore the brunt of the chaos. A regular 20–25 minute commute from Banjara Hills to Manikonda stretched into a two-hour ordeal, with multiple key routes blocked or slowed to a crawl.

Several residential communities, including Chitrapuri Colony and Lanco Hills, were cut off, as all approach roads were inundated. Residents had to make long detours to reach their homes, with some colonies effectively marooned for hours.

The heavy rain caught the city off guard once again, highlighting poor preparedness and inadequate drainage infrastructure in several high-density zones.