Sudden rain affects life in Tiruchi, power supply disrupted and traffic piles up on many roads

Heavy rain lashed several parts of Tiruchi and its surrounding areas late on Saturday evening, disrupting life and inundating many roads and low-lying areas in the city

Heavy rain lashed several parts of Tiruchi and its surrounding areas late on Saturday evening, disrupting life and inundating many roads and low-lying areas in the city.

The rain, accompanied by lightning and thunder, lasted a couple of hours in several parts of the city. Bharathidasan Salai, Major Saravanan Road, Alexandria Raod, TVS Tollgate, Heber Road, service road of Aristo bridge, and underpasses in Melapudur, Palpannai, and Gandhi Market area were inundated, exposing the inadequacies of the city’s storm-water drain system.

According to sources, Tiruchi Town recorded a maximum of 35 mm rainfall on Saturday. Golden Rock recorded 33.4 mm, Tiruchi Junction 23 mm, Tiruchi Airport 7.3 mm, and Navalur Kuttapattu registered 14.5 mm rain. Thenparanadu, Vathalai, Lalgudi, Samayapuram, and Manapparai also registered rain.

Traffic was disrupted at several places and many two-wheeler riders were stranded. Heavy traffic congestion was witnessed around Central and Chathiram bus stands and Palpannai, among other places. Several areas witnessed power outages because of the rain.

Clogged drains left several residential areas waterlogged on Sunday as well. Residents fear the situation may worsen during the monsoon because of poor maintenance of the storm-water drains and ongoing work on the long-delayed underground drainage project.

The sporadic summer showers for the past few weeks have brought down the temperature in the region which had been reeling under the heatwave for the past one month.