LAHORE, JUL 20 (DNA) – Heavy rain that lashed Lahore and other parts of central Punjab in the early hours of Tuesday turned the weather extremely pleasant besides inundating low-lying areas.
It also rained cats and dogs in Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Kasur, Gujrat, Narowal, Sialkot, Wazirabad, Nankana Sahib and Sangla Hill. Soon after the downpour started in Lahore, Commissioner Captain ® Muhammad Usman contacted the concerned officials and received updates on water drainage.
Talking to the media, he said that WASA MD was himself inspecting arrangements made to deal with any eventuality during the rains. The commissioner hoped that it would not take long to drain out the water accumulated so far. He directed all concerned officials to wake up and go straight to the affected areas to monitor water drainage.
He also stressed the need for keeping the machinery ready for the purpose. “Flush out the water accumulated at cattle markets with the help of machinery,” Commissioner Usman ordered. He asked the people to dial the numbers given by the administration in case of an emergency.
He also advised people to stay away from wires and electricity poles during the rains. The amount of rain received by different parts of the provincial capital till 11 AM is as under:
Nishter Town received 68 millimeters of rain followed by Johar Town (56.3 mm), Pani Wala Talab (56 millimeters), Lakshmi Chowk (48 mm) and Punjab University and Samanabad 43 millimeters each.
Heavy rain also disrupted the power supply to different areas of the city as over 300 feeders tripped.
In Faisalabad, the downpour turned low-lying areas into pools of water. The situation was not different on streets, roads and markets where knee-deep water created problems for the pedestrians and motorists alike. At some points, cars stopped due to the water that entered them.
Similarly, over seven-hour rain in Sargodha and suburbs while on one hand resulted in considerable drop in temperatures, it also flooded low-lying areas. It also rained in Islamabad early Tuesday morning.
There are reports of rains from Islamabad and other parts of upper Punjab, Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) while light rain has been reported from Karachi and south-eastern Sindh.
The met department has forecast more rains in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and other parts of the country, while at some places it has predicted heavy rains. However, most parts of Sindh and Balochistan will remain dry and hot. = DNA
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