VIJAYAWADA: After heavy rain lashed the city for a couple of hours on Tuesday afternoon, several low-lying areas got inundated causing trouble for the local residents.
With several roads clogged, the traffic police personnel diverted vehicular traffic, resulting in traffic snarls at various places.
Residents and owners of business establishments, who faced inconvenience due to waterlogging on roads blamed the shoddy cleaning and planning by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) for the persisting problem.
At several localities in One Town, Moghalrajpuram, Suryaraopet and on Eluru Road, sewage water was seen overflowing on the roads. Pedestrians, wading through water-filled streets and main roads were seen disgusted with the pathetic state of drains all over the city.
“Inundation of low-lying areas has become an annual phenomenon in the city during monsoon. Here, one should definitely blame the poor planning of the civic body officials in executing the underground drainage (UGD) works across the city,” G Mani Kumar, a motorist said.
Even after monsoon has intensified, the corporation was still carrying out pre-monsoon cleaning in major outfall drains causing much inconvenience to the public, he added.
Meanwhile, commuters on the National Highway stretch between Rajiv Gandhi Park and behind the
Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS), faced difficulty due to severe water-logging under the railway bridge.
They had a tough time avoiding potholes and slush. On the other hand, civic body commissioner V Prasanna Venkatesh cautioned residents of the hill slopes in the city to shift to safer locations.
The engineering and public health department officials took stock of the waterlogged and inundated areas across the city. Special teams were deployed in the evening with machinery to clear the clogged drains.