Rains dampen festive shopping

Hyderabad: Heavy rains lashed parts of the city on Friday. This downpour resulted in waterlogging on the streets and played a spoilsport for shoppers ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi.

With just a few minutes of rain, several colonies, especially the city's low-lying areas, remained marooned with water to their doorsteps due to excess discharge from nala and water bodies. Areas like Punjagutta, Jubilee Hills, Madhapur, Banjara Hills, and Mehdipatnam experienced heavy rain accompanied by strong winds and thunderstorms. Although the rainfall was brief, it was intense, and the city continued to experience wet conditions with light showers and drizzles following the downpour.

Due to heavy rains in the city and being a festive season, traffic jams were witnessed in a few areas, including Jubilee Hills Check Post, Khairatabad, Punjagutta, Ameerpet, and Begumpet. The Hyderabad Traffic police were seen diverting many vehicles and also guided travellers to take alternative routes keeping in mind the congestion in those areas.

Meanwhile, HMWSSB, Managing Director Ashok Reddy inspected various water-logged areas.

Earlier in the day, Hyderabad enjoyed clear skies and bright sunshine, with temperatures ranging between 30 degrees Celsius and 32 degrees Celsius. However, the sunshine was short-lived as clouds quickly gathered in the late afternoon, leading to the evening’s intense rainfall.

IMD predicts a similar trend for the coming days, with short spells of rain expected in the evenings. The day temperatures are going to range between 28 degree Celsius and 30 degree Celsius, till September 9.

According to recent data, Hyderabad has recorded 677.9 mm of rainfall, 38 per cent above the usual 489.7 mm. Within the city, Khairatabad saw the highest deviation, with 802.5 mm of rainfall against the normal 508.2 mm—a 58 percent increase.