At a time when the Visakhapatnam is all set to become a smart city, a spell of heavy rain on Tuesday laid bare the poor preparedness of the authorities to deal with the water-logging issues in the city.
Though a cloudy morning not unusual of late, people caught unawares as it poured heavily, much to the inconvenience of the residents of several low-lying parts of the city, particularly in the One Town area, such as Gnanapuram and Chavulamadum which got waterlogged on. Velampeta, Town Kotha Road, Poorna Market, Durgalamma temple, Dolphin Hotel to Sea Horse Junction remained waterlogged with rain pounding for more than an hour.
RTC bus stranded
People, particularly the office-goers and office goers, had a tough time. With waist-deep water on the Chavulmadum bridge, an RTC bus got stranded, giving anxious moments to passengers. Vehicular traffic from Gnanapuram under the bridge literally came to a grinding halt and it was resumed only after the water receded on its own.
“The entire road was under a thick sheet of water. As we needed to reach office, we took another route and took the national highway to come to city,” said an employee who went to Gnanapuram area on a visit early in the morning.
Meanwhile, traffic was thrown out of gear in One Town area. A two-wheeler rider who drifted into a drain with the water flow was dragged out by the people nearby.
Buses, however, managed to ply in the One Town area.
Forget about the interior areas, the stretch on the Beach Road between Novotel Junction and Viswapriya Function Hall was also not free from water-logging issues. Further, gales made the situation worse, blowing away the garbage, plastic buckets from balconies and traffic cones.
The Beach Road had the trash and pieces of plastic strewn all over. In a few areas of the city, tree branches felled by the gale and covered the roads.In Sectors I and II of the posh MVP Colony, water flowed on to the roads with garbage floating. However, the municipal workers cleared it later.
Drain works from May 15
According to GVMC Commissioner M. Hari Narayanan, high tide in the morning stood a barrier for the rain water to recede. “However, a low tide followed and water receded. The Port channel gate was also opened in time to facilitate the process,” Mr. Hari Narayanan told The Hindu . Asked about the monsoon preparedness of the civic body, he said the exercise to clear the city drains would begin from May 15.
Respite from heat
The heavy rain brought the much-needed relief from the sweltering heat conditions during the past few days and through the day on Tuesday, the weather remained cool. However, the downpour reduced the ‘May Day’ celebrations to a low-key affair.
