Rain, waterlogged roads throw traffic out of gear

Bhopal: Heavy rains on Friday evening led to severe traffic congestion across many major roads in the city. The downpour began during peak hours, causing significant delays as traffic moved at a snail's pace. Incessant rains resulted in waterlogging on numerous city roads, making it difficult for vehicles to navigate and causing massive traffic jams in both directions.Weather sources informed Close to 53 mm or 2 inches of rainfall was reported in the city on Friday, leading to flooded streets and traffic bottlenecks in several areas of the city.
One of the worst-hit stretches was from MP Nagar to Sawarkar Setu, where several vehicles were stuck in traffic for extended periods. Vehicles were stuck on the road on and around Veer Sawarkar Setu, in front of Rani Kamlapati Railway station, near Ganesh Mandir, and all the surrounding roads in Arera Colony.
The main cause of the traffic congestion was the inundation of roads at multiple spots along this route. The waterlogging was so severe in some areas that it completely submerged parts of the road, forcing vehicles to move slowly and cautiously. The high volume of traffic during the evening rush hour only exacerbated the situation, leading to a complete standstill at certain points.
Things got worse on the Hoshangabad road end of the Bawadiya Kalan bridge. In absence of traffic signals or regulation and confusing design of the bridge, the section of the road seems to be a free for all zone. Private buses halt in front of the Bagsewania police station, paying no heed to other vehicles. Waterlogging further aggravated the situation on Friday, leading to bumper-to-bumper traffic jams in the evening. The traffic signals too are out of order.
The stretch of road from Shani Mandir to Ashima mall witnessed traffic jams for a long time. The new road divider has no outlets for water drainage. "Old drains are clogged and overflowing. Service lanes too are full of potholes. Debris from nearby under-construction works occupy the lanes," said a commuter adding, "add to the woes, the civic body took up the job of digging the lane for sewerage after the monsoon kicked in. On the other side of the road, especially around a mall, illegally parked vehicles leave no room for commuters. Result: The road is squeezed from either side leading to massive traffic jams in the evening that eased only after the rain stopped and water receded."
In Nehru Nagar just an hour or two of heavy rains, followed by light showers, by evening the roads in the Nehru nagar area were alarmingly waterlogged, so much so that cab drivers were getting wary of crossing them for fear of getting stuck as they were unsure of the depths and extents of the flooded roads. A cab driver told TOI that he avoided the road in front of the Nehru nagar square and took the longer route to his destination because water threatened to reach the doors of cars with low ground clearance.
Then in MP nagar, drains began to overflow alongside the roads that lead down from Shaurya Smarak, and traffic jams worsened due to the conditions. Office-goers and students alike were stuck in the area as rain continued to pour heavily around 5:30 pm.
Similar conditions were reported in several parts of the Old City. Areas such as Hamidia Road, Nadra Bus Stand area, Hanumanganj, Saifia Road, and other nearby streets also experienced severe waterlogging, which caused significant disruptions to traffic flow. Vehicles were seen struggling to move through the flooded streets, with many drivers opting to turn around and find alternative routes. However, with traffic jams prevalent across the city, finding a clear path proved challenging for many commuters.
Pedestrians also faced difficulties as the flooded streets made walking unsafe. Several people were seen wading through ankle-deep water to reach their destinations. The heavy rainfall not only affected traffic but also led to power outages in some parts of the city, adding to the chaos.
Traffic cops struggled to control the situation. Additional DCP (Traffic) Basant Koul said that due to heavy rain, waterlogging took place at many spots including Board Office Square, Jyoti Talkies Square, Habibganj Underbridge, near Sawarkar Setu, and others. Traffic police had to divert the roads as they were submerged in water. So the commuters had to take longer routes to reach their destinations.
Power cuts were also reported in the city, though for a smaller duration. No major breakdowns were reported. "There were trippings, i.e. short duration power cuts in some areas of the city, but the supply was restored within some time. The majority of the complaints were reported from the old city area of the city, but there was no major power breakdown. The supplies were disturbed for only a few minutes and then it was restored," general manager, city circle, central discom, Zahid Aziz Khan told TOI.