LAHORE – Parts of the country including the City received rainsfall of varying intensities on Wednesday, bringing the life to a standstill by causing urban flooding, increasing hardships of motorists and pedestrians, and disturbing normal vehicular movement.
Roads in major cities including Lahore were presenting scenes of lakes and ponds, and it took hours for sanitation agencies and tehsil municipal administrations to clear inundated rainwater after stoppage of rains.
The rains caused flashflood in nullahs and storm water channels in Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu divisions; and the situation would persist until coming Saturday as more rains are expected during the next two to three days.
In Lahore, the rains smashed to the ground tall claims of Wasa regarding its preparedness for monsoon. Heavy rains submerged roads and streets, in not only low-lying areas but also several posh localities, in knee deep water and it took several hours for Wasa to clear inundated rainwater.
The ogoing construction work on a number of arteries including Ferozpur Road and Lytton Road added to the woes and miseries of motorists and pedestrians. Big potholes worsened the situation on Multan Road, Ferozrpur Road and arteries in Northern Lahore.
Inundated rainwater on roads caused massive traffic jams on a number of important arteries, including The Mall, Jail Road, Ferozpur Road, Sharey Fatima Jinnah, Davis Road, Multan Road and Canal Bank Road. Dozens of vehicles were seen broken down in various localities. The rains forced the administration to close down a number of underpasses that resulted in worst traffic jams on Canal Bank Road. Several incidents of skidding of motorcycles were also reported from various parts of the City.
Rains, overcast conditions and continuously blowing winds, however, provided much needed respite to the people from prevailing muggy weather by causing considerable decrease in the mercury level during the day and at nighttime.
People came out of their houses in the evening to enjoy pleasant weather after the rainfall. Major parks and picnic spots attracted a large number of people, including women and children, in the evening. A huge rush was witnessed at Bagh-e-Jinnah, Jillani Park, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Jallo Park, Lahore Zoo and other picnic spots in the City. Massive traffic jams were witnessed on roads in the close vicinity of these picnic spots.
On Wednesday, the maximum and minimum temperature in the City was recorded at 31 and 24 degree Celsius, respectively. Relative humidity in the evening was recorded 91 at per cent. According to the experts, a seasonal low lies over Balochistan and adjoining areas. Strong monsoon currents will continue to penetrate most parts of the country during the current week.
The local meteorological department has forecast partly cloudy weather with chances of thunderstorm / rain for the City during the next couple of days. The Met office has forecast widespread rain / thundershower with isolated heavy falls for Sindh, Punjab including Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and AJK. Scattered rain / thundershower with isolated heavy falls is expected in eastern parts of Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.