Gridlock leaves Hyderabad commuters irked

Hyderabad: A day after the Ganesh idol immersions, there was traffic congestion in several parts of the city, especially areas around the lakes.
Long queues were seen at immersion sites, with some stretching over a kilometre.
The situation was exacerbated on Wednesday by residents returning to the city after festivals. Hemantha Nageshwar Rao, a software engineer who commutes to Hi-Tec City, said, "I left home thinking the traffic would have cleared by now, but I was stuck for hours.It's like everyone is back in the city all at once!"
In some areas, such as Madhapur and Begumpet, commuters reported being stuck in traffic for more than an hour, with some opting to walk to their destinations. Shruti Reddy, a tech professional from Gachibowli, said, "I decided to walk the last stretch to work as it was faster than being stuck in the car."
A traffic cop said, "The diversions were necessary to manage the immersion processions, but the timing coincided with many people returning from their holidays. It was expected, so our team was ready to deal with the chaos."