Pune city records 18.7 mm pre-monsoon showers
Videos of rain water cascading from the newly inaugurated Sinhagad Road flyover was shared through the day; it underlined the water management flaws in construction of the flyover
Pune witnessed intense pre-monsoon rainfall on Tuesday, which led to waterlogging and traffic disruptions in various parts. According to data shared by India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city recorded 18.7 mm rainfall in just 40-50 minutes in the morning, even as showers continued till late in the afternoon.
As people struggled to make their way through the city’s thoroughfares with significant amount of water accumulation, in some areas the drainage system failed to hold the sudden influx of water. Videos of rain water cascading from the newly inaugurated Sinhagad Road flyover was shared through the day; it underlined the water management flaws in construction of the flyover. Others also took to several social media platforms to share visuals of the sudden downpour.
Sonali Gaikwad, a resident of Pashan, said: “While the spell of rain was a welcome relief from the scorching heat in Pune, waterlogging due incomplete road work made it difficult for many of us to travel in the Pashan-Sus area. Now that monsoon will be here soon, I hope the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will take serious note of all the incomplete work and solve this issue as soon as possible.” Sayali Shinde, who lives in Dhankwadi, complained about water logging in her area. “It slowed down traffic and many people found it difficult to travel even short distances. I had to delay going to work today, seeing the traffic congestion on the road,” she said.
Additional municipal commissioner, PMC, Prithviraj BP, said, “We received several complaints from citizens about waterlogging, choked drainage lines and threat of accidents due to poor road conditions. We have instructed contractors to complete all unfinished work as soon as possible.”
The current spell falls under the category of pre-monsoon showers and was forecasted by IMD on Monday; the department had issued an orange alert for Pune city and district for Tuesday.
Officials from IMD said the formation of the thunderstorm started in the early hours of Tuesday and by around 11:15 am, areas in the south and western parts of the city started receiving intense rainfall. Katraj, Sinhagad Road, Satara Road, Kothrud, Pashan, Sus, Baner, Bavdhan received the full brunt of the rain initially, which progressed to the city’s central parts eventually.
Moderate rain was observed in Pimpri-Chinchwad as well. Meteorologists said such pre-monsoon showers are typical for this time of year, and serve as a precursor to the upcoming monsoon season.
The forecast
Speaking about current weather conditions, S D Sanap, senior meteorologist, IMD Pune, said, “Currently a trough is lying between Vidarbha and south Karnataka. Additionally, westerlies from the Arabian Sea is bringing moisture into the state, resulting in many areas of the state experiencing severe rainfall. Although the intensity is likely to reduce to from Wednesday, there are chances of light rainfall along with gusty winds, thunder and lightning activities till Saturday.”
Disruptions in the city
The city experienced light to moderate rainfall over the last five days, which peaked on Tuesday. On Monday, Hadapasr recorded 22.5 mm rainfall and Shivajinagar 2.5 mm.
After Tuesday’s onslaught, power supply was cut off in many areas. Speaking about the disruptions, a senior official from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) said, “After Monday’s rain, nearly 10,000 households were affected due to disruption in power supply in Wadachiwadi, Hadapsar and Waworie areas. The power lines were broken due to gusty winds and incidents of tree felling. We managed to restore the power supply in nearly 8000 households in the affected areas between midnight and 1 pm on Tuesday, in a phased manner.”
He added, on Tuesday the 132 KV Maha-Transmission line between Jejuri and Nanded city, in Dhayari area, faced technical glitches, which led to areas such as Khadkawasla, Kirkatwadi, Nanded Gaon, Wadgaon and Dhayari facing power cuts for a few hours.
Meanwhile, the fire department reported four incidents of tree felling on Tuesday.
