Flooding of Munneru River Halts Vehicular Traffic Between Hyderabad and Vijayawada

Vehicular traffic between Hyderabad and Vijayawada came to an abrupt halt on Friday due to the flooding of National Highway 65 at Itavaram near Nandigama in the NTR district, caused by floodwaters from the Munneru river. As a result, vehicles traveling from Hyderabad to Vijayawada were diverted at Kodad in Telangana, with traffic being routed through Huzurnagar and Miryalguda.

However, the diversion has led to massive traffic jams extending up to five kilometers on the Kodad-Huzurnagar road. The Munneru River in Khammam district has been in spate since Thursday, and the heavy downstream flow resulted in the inundation of this crucial national highway in the NTR district. Notably, the highway was also flooded at the Keesara tollgate in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh.

Due to the adverse conditions, the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) had to suspend its services between Hyderabad and Vijayawada on the national highway. In response, TSRTC will be operating buses through alternate routes, specifically via Miryalguda, Piduguralla, and Guntur, with buses scheduled to run every 30 minutes on this route. Initially, the police attempted to regulate traffic on one side of the four-way highway, but the rising floodwaters ultimately necessitated the complete suspension of vehicle movement as both roads were submerged.