Heavy rains clog life in Hyderabad

“Two men spotted hanging on to a palm trees for dear life are still waiting for help. One women and two children swept away” was one among the many horrific tweets that Hyderabad woke up to on 23rd September. Obvious to the fact that GHMC was unprepared to tackle the torrential downpour, experts aren’t shocked the city is grappling with major water woes. Disrupting the normalcy of the city, incessant rains has clearly taken a heavy toll on the life of Hyderabadis.

Cracks and crevices aside, huge craters have been formed on stretches connecting major tech hubs. Roads stretching from Mehdipatnam to Gachibowli stands testimony to the miseries of the daily commuters. Staying in the heart of the IT corridor, a 10-minute walk has become a 45-to 50-minute nightmare. “Usually the 10-to 15-minute walk from Image Hospital to Cyber Pearl building is never a difficult one. But with roads damaged and traffic moving at a snail’s pace, reaching office requires a huge effort, “says T Srikanth, techie. Speaking about how IT firms were being cautious, Kiran M, a project lead at an IT giant, says, “Since the roads are completely damaged, travelling more than 7 km has been advised against.”

“Having five mouths to feed at home, I have been hardly earning Rs.400 per day for the past 5 days”, says Narsingh, a chat vendor at Madhapur. The worst affected during rains are the cart vendors and small shop owners whose sales are taking a giant dip. Rains that span over a week are disrupting their only means of livelihood. DLF, a major food hub at Gachibowli, now lies deserted at nights as their dripping tents cannot accommodate more than 5-8 people during rains.
heavy-rain

There is also an expected outbreak of communicable diseases in the aftermath of incessant rains lashing the city. Anticipating a rush of patients due to a spurt in seasonal diseases, many hospitals have increased the number of OP counters and extended timings from the earlier 9 am to 12 noon to 9 am to 4 pm now.

The anguish over the heavy downpour was vented out by people as rain, water-logging and bad roads dominated social media timelines. A number of journalists and netizens kept the people alert on the full horror of difficulties faced by the average Hyderabad citizen.

Blurb: I have been living in Hyderabad for the past five years and I have never seen such rain which resulted in flooding and clogging, I live in a one bedroom apartment and it smells like cowshed now” said Aman Singh who lives in Gachibowli.

 

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