First heavy rain of the season: Waterlogging hits traffic badly

Season's first heavy rain that lashed the city on Monday evening badly affected the flow of traffic.

Many roads in the city became waterlogged resulting in slow movement of vehicles. There were traffic snarls on AJC Bose Road, Gurusaday Dutta Road, Park Circus and Park Street. Cars were seen standing bumper to bumper at Park Circus intersection.

Traffic movement was badly hit in Salt Lake Sector V as well. Most of the streets were waterlogged. It took over 40 minutes to reach Eastern Metropolitan bypass from College More. Two wheelers in Sector V had a problem as most of the bikes stopped because of the accumulated water and their owners had to push them through.

The home-bound commuters were greatly inconvenienced as public transport became scarce. Taxis refused to go to various areas apprehending waterlogging.

As most of the roads are covered with mastic asphalt, vehicles were driven at a low speed to avoid skidding.

Long queues of vehicles were seen along Diamond Harbour Road between Behala police station and Chowrasta. Most of the lanes and by-lanes got waterlogged causing massive inconvenience to people. Auto services were also hit because of the accumulated water.

However, water started to recede once the rain stopped.

Senior officials of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation said all the pumps to clear accumulated water from the roads were kept ready and the water receded pretty quickly after the rain stopped.

They said the civic authorities had taken all possible measures to keep the city roads clear but in case of heavy rain, the roads will be flooded. However, the duration of waterlogging will be very less, they maintained.

They said drivers on Maa flyover should be extra cautious when there is rain as despite repeated warnings some drivers have a tendency to accelerate on the flyover and as the road surface is wet they might find it difficult to control the vehicle.