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As heavy rains lashed Hyderabad on Wednesday, September 17, a 27-year-old man named Mohammed Sharafuddin tragically died by drowning in the water-logged Balkampet underpass.
The incident occurred at 10.30 pm when Sharafuddin, a resident of Musheerabad, was returning home from Balanagar on his two-wheeler. Sharafuddin worked at a company manufacturing artificial limbs, police said.
Police said that the victim attempted to take the underpass though police had restricted vehicles from using it by barricading it.
“Traffic barricades were put up near the underpass. He was familiar with the route and the water levels there, but he was apparently in a rush to attend a function near his home and took that route as it was shorter,” SR Nagar Station House Officer (SHO), Inspector T Srinath Reddy Inspector said.
Police said his body was recovered and sent to Gandhi Hospital for a post-mortem.
Heavy rains battered Hyderabad on September 17, leading to waterlogging and traffic disruption in many areas. According to the Telangana Development Planning Society (TGDPS), in the 24 hours starting from 8.30 am on September 17, the highest rainfall of 138.5 mm was recorded at Secunderabad. Musheerabad, Ameerpet, and Marredpally also recorded high rainfall.
For the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area, an average rainfall of 58.8 mm was recorded against a normal of 4.2 mm.
Earlier on September 14, three men were swept away in floodwaters. According to reports, Arjun (25) and Rama (26), both butchers, were washed away in Afzal Sagar and Habeebnagar, while Sunny (26), a private worker, was killed in Vinobha Nagar when a wall over a drain collapsed.