Rush hour traffic turns into motorists’ nightmare

Major traffic snarls were reported in several parts of the city as the rain coincided with the evening peak hour traffic, HT reports

Major traffic snarls were reported in several parts of the city as the rain coincided with the evening peak hour traffic.

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According to the traffic police, several areas in the city started reporting waterlogging by 4pm, and by late evening at least 30 spots were heavily waterlogged resulting in major traffic jams.

“Several roads were closed down and diversions were put in place through arterial roads. Around 6pm, we circulated text messages requesting people to stay indoors as heavy rainfall was expected to go on till midnight,” said a traffic official.

The police made announcements through local radio stations to create awareness.

“There was heavy traffic near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and traffic was moving at an ant's pace as half of the road was rendered useless because of knee-deep water,” said Kavya Iyer, a 24-year-old media professional.

“It took me an hour and fifty minutes to cover a 4-km distance from Mahim church to Bandra,” said another motorist.

While the Western Express Highway reported bumper-to-bumper traffic, other spots with traffic snarls included Filmcity Road in Goregaon (West), Sakinaka junction, JJ flyover, Babulnath junction, Eastern Express Highway, Chembur, Kalachowkie junction, among other places.

“Milan, Andheri and Malad subways were closed by 5pm. Traffic personnel were guiding people,” said the official.