BHOPAL: The water-clogged broken roads bared fangs on Wednesday afternoon when a heavy rain lashed the state capital. It seemed the deep ditches on the roads were ready to consume pedestrians and bikers.
The accumulated rainwater turned most of the thoroughfares into swimming pools.
The road outside the police headquarters looked like the Upper Lake. Most of the bikers and pedestrians had a tough time to cross that area.
There was a major traffic gridlock because of the accumulated rainwater there.
The four-wheeler drivers splashed dirty water on the pedestrians and on the bikers. Immediately after that, there was a heated exchange between four-wheeler drivers and the two-wheeler riders.
It was difficult, as well as, risky to drive on that road.
A few bikers lost their balance and skidded off the road. They were wet. As they fell short of their usual speed because of the traffic jam, thankfully they were not injured.
The drain through which the rainwater passes is chocked. For this reason, the rainwater spilled over the street.
The water that was passing through police headquarters gate reminded the passersby of a waterfall.
The rainwater also accumulated at different places on the Jail Road.
It happened because of the failure of Bhopal Municipal Corporation to clean up the blocked drains before the arrival of the rainy season.
Not only that, there was water logging in Kasturba Nagar, but it happened, as building materials have been kept on the road.
It was very difficult to drive on that part of the road that joins Kasturba Nagar with the nearby under bridge.
It is well known that whenever it rains heavily, there happens to be a massive water logging under the bridge.
Surprisingly, that did not happen on Wednesday, although there was a major traffic snarl-up under the bridge.
The road outside MP Nagar Market was also water logged. Yet, that was not unusual.
Despite all that, the police did not remove the barriers near the headquarters, which they put up during the corona curfew. That caused more problems, as there was a little room between the barricades through which big vehicles could pass in that situation.
The rainwater also amassed below the statue of Rana Pratap at the Chetak Bridge. That area also witnessed a major traffic bottleneck.
The pot-holed roads in Bhopal are like the black spots on the moon.
When the full moon is up in the clear welkin, the black spots look prominent. Similarly, when it rains heavily, the broken roads bare fangs.
The rain-washed afternoon slowly drooped, but the firmament remained cloudy.
Rainwater floods congested markets
PRAVEENBAJPAI
The state capital recorded a spell of heavyrain on the second consecutive day inundating the congested markets in the oldcity. Thok Bazar Jumerati, Janakpuri area was flooded with rainwater onWednesday. Traders and visitors had a tough time wading through water loggedroads. Thok Vypar Mandal general secretary Anupam Agrawal blamed choked drainsfor water logging on roads. From Jumerati Post Office to Hanumanganj, drainshave not been cleared so the choked drain caused water-logging in the entireareas posing problems for customers as well as traders, said Agrawal.
