First showers bring a spate of accidents in Hyderabad city

HYDERABAD: City roads turned dangerously slippery after the first summer showers hit the city on Friday noon. Over 20 vehicles were involved in a road accident on Telugu Talli flyover at the Lower Tank Bund. What was thought of as an isolated incident, turned into an epidemic with many more two-wheelers skidding across various parts of the city. Police attribute the unexpected rains, smooth road and vehicle oil accumulated over the months on the road as the root cause of the accident. Road engineering experts also warned riders to go slow as a thin layer of tar, rubber and oil, was making the fine grit on roads greasy, and thus, slippery.  The city police had for now spread sand over various roads to stop skidding of two-wheelers.

Meanwhile, traffic came to a halt at 12 noon after the skidding of the first bike, which was followed by other two-wheelers. “People stopped their vehicles so as not to worsen the situation. The road is very smooth and the engine oil of vehicles that get accumulated over months came out making it slippery,” said Rakesh, a constable with Saifabad police station, who was also a first responder. “One person was injured and was taken to a private hospital almost immediately. GHMC later used a machine to clean the road,” he added. 

At 8 pm, over five two-wheelers skid under the Panjagutta flyover. “Slow down on slippery surfaces, the four small patches of rubber on your tyres will have greatly reduced grip. Drive below the speed limit. Also, on dry bitumen, you should maintain a two-to-three second gap between you and the car in front to give time enough time to respond to an emergency,”said P Surya Prakash, founder of Smart Infrastructural Engineering Services Trust.

IMD issues thunderstorm warning at isolated places for today

Hyderabad: If the city witnessed cloudy skies on Thursday, Friday brought much relief too. From the usual soaring temperatures recorded in the past few days, several parts of the city experienced pleasant weather and drizzles too. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Hyderabad, has issued a warning for thunderstorm accompanied by gusty winds, very likely, to occur at isolated places in all districts of the State for Saturday too. According to IMD Hyderabad Centre, City recorded a maximum of 31 degree Celsius and minimum of 20 degree Celsius on Friday. This is a departure of -7 degrees from normal. For the next two days, the weather bulletin said, the city will witness ‘generally cloudy sky with light rain or drizzle’. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 32 and 22 degree Celsius respectively.