Rains force shutdown of signals, traffic gridlocked

Hyderabad: Incessant rains led to severe disruption of Hyderabad's traffic system, with at least 20 signals out of order for the last 72 hours. With another 49 signals shut down for upgradation work, commuters were left complaining of a traffic nightmare at multiple locations. Some of the junctions that were affected include MJ Market, Kacheguda, Abids, Bowenpally, Alwal, Patny, Himayatnagar and Banjara Hills. Cops posted there attributed it to snapping of electricity lines that resulted in the short circuit of traffic signals. "Recurring thunderstorms are causing the signals to falter. These thunderstorms caused four signals to come down just in and around Secunderabad alone," said inspector Bharat Kumar, who handles traffic control signals for Hyderabad traffic police. Commuters, meanwhile, had a rough day on the streets with traffic going haywire in some places — despite the best efforts of traffic personnel. "It was particularly dangerous to drive at night, in the absence of traffic lights. Since many take to overspeeding during those hours, I had to be overly careful while returning from work," said Hari Babu, a commuter driving through the busy Himayatnagar junction. Another commuter, Gaurav B, who travels via Patny to his office in Koti said, "There were no traffic personnel posted at the junction despite the signal not working. It took me nearly half an hour to navigate my way through it around noon as all vehicles were crossing the junction at will. It also led to a traffic snarl that got cleared once a traffic cop came and cleared the intersection." In the wake of the electrical fault, traffic officials said that they are in the process of installing new control boxes equipped with fresh overhead cables and separate fuses for each signal bulb. The work, they said, will ensure that if one signal LED goes down, the rest remain operational, minimising the impact on traffic flow. "Due to road cuttings and electricity failures the signals are going down. We are sending personnel to repair it within a few hours of receiving a complaint at our traffic police control room," said deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Rahul Hegde, assuring that the issue will be resolved by Wednesday.
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