Heavy rain pummels Hyderabad

Normal life was thrown out of gear as heavy rain lashed Hyderabad for several hours this evening.
According to a Met department official, 67.6 mm of rainfall was recorded in the city from around 4.30 PM to 8.30 PM. The rainfall was mainly due to the monsoon.
The downpour led to inundation of several low-lying areas and traffic moved at a snail's pace due to water-logging at different places in the city.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) said its personnel have been pressed into service to flush out stagnated water and to take up other relief works.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who spoke to GHMC Commissioner and the city police commissioner, urged the official machinery to be on alert throughout the night, a release from Rao's office said.

He directed the officials to take up relief works and respond to problems wherever they occurred, it said.