Traffic nightmare: From Bengaluru to Gurgaon

There was an outpouring of public anger on social networking sites over the civic catastrophes that have become the norm in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and the National Capital Region.

Prohibitory orders were imposed near Hero Honda Chowk in Gurgaon, dubbed as ‘Millenium City’, in a bid to ease the congestion caused by massive traffic jams, even as political parties were locked in a slugfest over the situation.

Boats were also deployed in some parts of Bengaluru, the IT city, to evacuate stranded people.

In Bihar, the floods has affected about 22 lakh people in 10 districts while many rivers, including Koshi were flowing above danger mark, an official said, adding a total of 26 people have died in the state. The flood fury also continued unabated in Assam.

Long tailbacks were witnessed in gridlocked roads in Gurgaon for the second day on Friday due to severe waterlogging on National Highway-8 after heavy rains lashed Delhi’s satellite city leaving thousands of commuters stranded and forcing authorities to clamp prohibitory orders.

Schools were also ordered to be shut down in Gurgaon. Traffic was also thrown out of gear in Delhi with vehicles moving at snail’s pace on several roads due to waterlogging.

In Bengaluru, heavy incessant rains since last night brought traffic chaos and caused flooding of streets, crippling normal life in several parts of the city. There were also reports of people fishing in some waterlogged areas. Kodichikkanahalli and Bilekahalli were severely affected in Bengaluru with water entering the houses in these areas.

The city witnessed overflowing lakes and drainages coupled with uprooted trees, compounding woes of the people with submerged low-lying areas. The Fire department has deployed boats in Kodichikkanahalli to evacuate stranded people out of their buildings, officials said.

Another IT city, Hyderabad, was crippled by traffic jams on Friday. Key areas like Toli Chowki, Mehdipatnam, Madhapur, Begumpet and Secunderabad have witnessed severe traffic congestion most of this week. Hyderabad Police for their part maintained absolute silence on social media - no advisories, updates or instructions.

Mumbai, known also as the ‘Maximum City’, witnessed  massive traffic snarls. Movement on key stretches like the Western Express in Andheri remained sluggish. The city had somehow escaped massive waterlogging over the past two weeks, but sizeable pools of water on roads on Friday made life miserable for Mumbai denizens.

Morning showers slowed down traffic on the arterial roads of Delhi. Waterlogging on several roads, underpasses also resulted in severe traffic jams at different stretches, causing hardships to 

the commuters.