Hyderabad, October 17, 2025
In a stark reminder of the city's perennial battle against monsoon fury, heavy overnight rains have inundated Hyderabad's bustling HITEC City, turning key IT corridors into virtual rivers and forcing major tech firms to mandate work-from-home for more than 50,000 employees. The deluge, which dumped over 60 mm of rain in just four hours, has paralyzed traffic, submerged underpasses, and exposed glaring gaps in urban drainage infrastructure.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued a yellow alert for Telangana late Thursday, forecasting moderate to heavy showers with gusty winds up to 50 kmph. By early Friday morning, the reality exceeded warnings: low-lying areas around the Cyber Towers, Mindspace, and the Outer Ring Road (ORR) stretch near Raidurg were the worst hit, with water levels rising to knee-deep in spots. Eyewitnesses described scenes of pandemonium as office-goers waded through knee-high floods, while vehicles stalled in snarls that stretched for kilometers.
"This is the third time in as many months we've seen this," said Rajesh Kumar, a software engineer at a leading multinational in HITEC City, who spent over two hours navigating flooded roads to reach his apartment. "The flyovers help, but the moment it rains hard, everything backs up. We're lucky no major accidents happened today."
The fallout has rippled across Hyderabad's $75 billion IT sector, which employs over 8 lakh professionals in the region. Companies like Infosys, TCS, and Accenture—major players in the hub—swiftly activated contingency plans, directing staff to log in remotely. Cyberabad Police Commissioner K. Suresh Reddy echoed the call in an official advisory issued at 8 a.m., urging IT and corporate firms to "prioritize employee safety by enabling work-from-home arrangements to decongest roads." Similar advisories have become routine during rainy spells, as seen in late September when police suggested WFH amid heavy downpours that pooled water on key routes. In August, the Telangana IT Department went further, formally advising firms to facilitate remote work for the day, a move that spared thousands from the commute nightmare.
Estimates from industry sources peg the affected workforce at over 50,000, with many employees already en route when the advisory hit. "We've instructed all non-essential on-site staff to turn back and work from home," confirmed a spokesperson for one of the Fortune 500 firms in the area, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Productivity dips are minimal thanks to hybrid setups post-pandemic, but the real issue is the infrastructure failing us year after year."
The flooding isn't isolated to offices; residential complexes in nearby Gachibowli and Madhapur reported basement inundations, forcing evacuations for dozens of families. Traffic police from Rachakonda and Cyberabad commissionerates deployed over 200 personnel at junctions like the Nanakramguda flyover, where ORR sections were briefly closed due to overflow. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) mobilized pumps and Disaster Response Force (DRF) teams, but clearing operations are expected to drag into the evening. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, reviewing the situation via video conference, directed immediate relief measures, including hot meals for stranded commuters and a review of stormwater drain upgrades promised under the "Monsoon Action Plan."
This latest episode draws uncomfortable parallels to September's torrential rains, when 103.8 mm fell overnight, flooding Hi-Tech City and leaving commuters stranded in Madhapur and Gachibowli. Back then, one death was reported in rain-related incidents, and over 1,000 people were rescued as reservoirs like Himayat Sagar overflowed. Environmental activists, including those from the Save Hyderabad group, renewed calls for better urban planning. "HITEC City generates billions, yet basic drainage remains a joke," tweeted activist V. Lakshmi, whose post garnered thousands of shares by midday. "Time for tech giants to fund flood-resilient infra, not just logos on skyscrapers."
As the IMD predicts scattered showers through the weekend, IT leaders are bracing for extended disruptions. NASSCOM, the industry body, issued a statement emphasizing resilience: "Our sector has adapted well to such events, but sustained government action on drainage is crucial for Hyderabad's global competitiveness."
For now, screens flicker to life across homes in Secunderabad and beyond, as Hyderabad's tech heartbeat pulses on—remotely, resiliently, but with a growing undercurrent of frustration.
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