Hyderabad rains: A harrowing 20 kms on road

By Neha Bhandarkar
I stepped out of my Bolarum home at 5.15 pm on Friday evening. The in tensity of the rainfall had reduced by then and I was certain of making it to my place of work at Banjara Hills by the 6 pm swipe-in time. The 20-km journey, traffic notwithstanding, usually never takes more than 45 minutes.
But 15-odd minutes into my commute on Friday, I realised I was in for a long haul on the roads.As my bus reached the Patny Junction, I saw a sea of vehicles around me, all waiting impatiently to move an inch ahead. The drizzle had reverted to a pounding downpour making it all the more difficult for motorists to traverse through flooded streets. The plight of pedestrians, many wading through over-theankle-level water, was tough to ignore. I got down from the bus to join them, hoping to find an auto-rickshaw to complete the rest of my journey. The clock had ticked past 6.15 by then. I waited in the midst of dozens of equally harried travellers and gridlocked traffic, getting drenched all through, for close to an hour before a share auto driver came to my rescue. The ones before him, either flatly refused to give me a ride in the rough weather or demanded that I cough up at least Rs 300, more than three times of what I usually pay for the same distance.Cab fares, of course, had crossed the Rs 400 mark.
Squeezed in-between two other passengers, and relentlessly praying that the vehicle does not break down or get stuck somewhere along the overflowing stretch, I somehow managed to reach Greenlands ­ almost two-and-half hours after I had started my journey. The roads around had turned into rivulets by now and those caught in the midst of the mayhem were struggling to get to their destinations. The despair on their faces, and surely on mine as well, was evident.
Once off the share-auto, I started on foot in search of another vehicle, this time willing to pay any amount for the last 5 to 6 kms. I was exhausted, both physically and mentally. So when an auto driver asked for Rs 100, for a ride that costs no more than Rs 40 on a regular day, I jumped in. As I inched closer to my destination, I realised that the situation around was far from improving. In fact, the Panjagutta junction was particularly a mess. I looked down from the flyover to find scores and scores of commuters left stranded there, with little hope of breaking through the gridlock any time soon.
After three painfully long hours and numerous nerve-racking moments, I finally stepped into my work place, praying for the rest of the day to end at the earliest!