SHILLONG/TURA: Incessant rainfall for the past 24 hours across the Garo Hills region and Khasi Hills brought temperatures crashing even as commuters using the Tura-Dalu highway have had a harrowing experience while negotiating the mud and slush on the road which is currently under construction.
Rain continued to batter Shillong for the entire day as there rain did not stop. Many two-wheeler riders had to take out their rain coats while Shillong also witnessed traffic jam as traffic certainly slowed down for some time in the city.
Meanwhile, water logging was also seen in some parts of the city.
A depression over the Bay of Bengal had caused widespread rainfall across the Himalayan region, including Bengal and the Northeastern states since Thursday.
Though it has not been a heavy downpour, the continuous drizzle had caused temperatures to plummet, with even Tura dropping from 28 to 21 degree Celsius overnight.
While no major damage to roads or flooding has been reported, the continuous rain has disrupted ongoing road projects.
A large number of vehicles were piled up at 9th mile, on the Tura-Dalu road, due to the slush causing a blockade for sometime on Friday morning.
Several four-wheeler vehicles got dragged into the mud and had to be pushed by pedestrians to break free. As a precautionary measure, authorities have prohibited the movement of heavy vehicles, such as trucks and buses, on the damaged portion of the highway located at 9th mile in Kherapara region.
In the light of this inclement weather, the Meghalaya government has also rescheduled its Shillong Autumn Festival-2019 to November 2 and 3, which was previously supposed to be held on October 26 and 27.
The ongoing weather phenomenon is expected to ease only by late Saturday, according to weather reports.