Lahore roads overwhelmed with rainwater

LAHORE : Heavy rain inundated most of the provincial metropolis areas here Thursday while Met office predicted more devastating rains during the next 48 hours.

The rain which started early morning brought city life to a standstill while hundreds of Lesco feeders went out of order. Rainwater remained on city roads for many hours despite the fact all the hierarchy of civic bodies such as Wasa, LDA and district administration remained on toes.

The rain inundated all major roads, residential and commercial localities, playgrounds, stadiums, graveyards, bus stands and public parks. Wasa officials said 131mm rain was recorded at Tajpura scheme.

Over 400 feeders of Lesco were closed down due to the continuous rain depriving more than 40 percent of the city population of electricity. As there was no electricity in half of the city localities, residents faced serious problems in getting drinking water because they were unable to operate their motors while many tube-wells remained silent.

Wasa Managing Director Syed Zahid Aziz said that until Thursday evening most of the 22 sore points, including Laxmi Chowk, Haji Camp, Firdos Market, Kashmir Road, GPO, Sheranwala Gate, Aik Moriya Pull, Mozang, Qartaba Chowk, Lawrence Road and Ichhra were cleared.

A large number of roads looked like mini canals and remained inundated in ankle-deep stagnant rainwater which caused serious inconvenience to road users besides causing traffic blockage at major crossings across the city. The underpass of Farooq Gunj, Misri Shah was filled with rainwater and several vehicles remained stuck in it.

The rainwater also affected majority of graveyards, including Miani Sahib, Mian Mir Sahib, Township, Samsani (Johar Town), Township, Faisal Town adjacent to Kottha Pind and Pind Rajputan graveyards.

Over 131mm rainfall was recorded at Tajpura, 110mm at Chowk Nakhuda, 108mm at Pani Wala Talab, 93mm at Laxmi Chowk, 83.5mm at Farrukhabad, 80.4mm at airport, 64mm at Gulshan-e-Ravi, 56.5mm at Samanabad, 51.6mm at Jail Road, 49mm at Allama Iqbal Town, 40mm at Johar Town and 32mm at Gulberg.

The rainwater also caused a big crater in a green belt opposite the busy crossing of Shadiwal, Johar Town. The crater was more than 25 feet deep and four to five feet wide. Wasa Deputy Managing Director Aslam Khan Niazi visited the site and directed staff to place diversion on road.

Rainwater entered homes in many areas such as Mozang, Bhatti Gate, Pani Wala Talab, Azam Cloth Market, Johar Town, Alhamd Colony, Allama Iqbal Town, Nisbat Road, Gowalmandi, Bagh Munshi Ladha, Ravi Road, low-lying areas on Circular Road, Ichhra, Shama Road, Fazlia Colony, Shah Jamal, Shadman, Model Town, Faisal Town and Township.

Traffic at Qartaba Chowk and The Mall near Punjab University slowed down. Rainwater on the Ferozepur Road near Qainchi and Kalima Chowk caused traffic jams.

Meanwhile, Met officials said seasonal low lay over north Balochistan. Strong monsoon currents from Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal are penetrating upper parts of the country and likely to spread central and southern parts during next 36 to 48 hours.

They predicted that widespread rains/wind-thunderstorm is expected in Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Hazara, Malakand, Peshawar, Mardan Divisions, Islamabad and Kashmir, while at scattered places in Kohat, Bannu, DI Khan, Zhob, Kalat, Sibbi, Naseerabad, DG Khan, Multan, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur Divisions and Gilgit-Baltistan. Heavy to very heavy falls are also expected at scattered places in Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore Divisions, Islamabad and Kashmir.

Rainfall was also reported at several cities, including Islamabad (Saidpur 158, Z/P 123, Golra 66, Bokra 32, AP 11), Rawalpindi (Shamsabad 116, Chaklala 93), Narowal 89, Jhelum 65, Sialkot (A/P 50, City 43), Gujranwala 42, Gujrat 40, Mangla 29, Murree 27, Kasur 13, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad 10, Chakwal 08, Attock 03, Muzaffarabad (City 127, A/P 28), Garhi Dupatta 31, Kotli 24, Rawalakot 10, Kakul 89, Parachinar 30, Balakot 23, Malam Jabba 14, Dir 06, Saidu Sharif 02 and Karachi 01.

Thursday’s maximum temperature was recorded at Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad and Dalbandin where mercury reached 46°C while in Lahore, it was 30°C and minimum was 24.5°C. On the other hand, DC Lahore, Commissioner Lahore and other senior officials of district administration monitored the rain and post-rain situation in the city. Deputy Commissioner Saleha Saeed had directed all staff to remain present in their offices as well as in the field. She paid surprise visit to various points and supervised dewatering process.

Meanwhile, Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Director General, Muhammad Usman Moazzam, supervised the post-rain operation for disposal of water from various areas.

The director general visited Laxmi Chowk, Shimla Hill, Kashmir Road and other low-lying areas for monitoring the arrangements made by Wasa. He directed the staff concerned for ensuring optimum utilisation of the available machinery for quick drainage of rainwater. He directed the officials concerned for keeping close coordination with Met office for the discharge operation simultaneously with the start of drizzle.

Briefing the LDA director general about the measures taken by Wasa for quick disposal of rainwater, Wasa Managing Director Syed Zahid Aziz told that all the 117 drainage, pumping and lift stations were functioning to their full capacity besides the 44 sucker vehicles and 91 de-watering sets installed at sensitive points in the city.

He said that post-rain operation was being carried out smoothly. A central monitoring cell has also been established at the head office of Wasa for close coordination with field formation and the 25 complaint centres had been set up in the city which were working round-the-clock.