KARACHI   -   The Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah while taking notice of rainwater accumulation in the urban areas of Thatta, Badin and Kandhkot has directed the local administration to drain rainwater immediately.

He said that the rain had stopped and administration drained rainwater today and restored the flow of roads. The Chief Minister also sought a report on the reasons for the accumulation of rainwater. He warned that if water was accumulated due to management’s incompetence he would take action.

Meanwhile, cyclone ‘ASNA’ has spared Karachi and coastal areas of Balochistan and now has moved away toward Oman, still the rain and strong winds it produced resulted in the loss of seven lives besides uprooting trees and electricity poles in the city, while three people died in Balochistan, reported on Sunday.

The fatalities have been reported from Qila Saifullah and Dukki areas of the province.

Although rain has stopped in Sindh, including Karachi, people are still suffering from their aftereffects.

The rainwater that had entered scores of villages in Qambar, Sindh from the Kirthar mountainous range has not been drained out as yet, while the water also washed away the roads, forcing the people to use boats as means of communication.

On the other hand, nobody from the district administration has visited the area as yet to assess the damage done by the rains and start relief and rescue activities. Residents of the area have appealed to the provincial Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to take notice of their plight.

Although floodwater has receded in Rojhan in southern Punjab, still the people, who had been displaced as a result of it, have been forced to spend their days and nights out in the open by the side of the Indus Highway as they have not received any assistance from the government as yet.

The affected people have said they have lost all their belongings; their homes have been destroyed, crops have been washed away, and they have nothing to eat.

They have appealed to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to order steps for their rehabilitation.     

More rains predicted for Sindh, Balochistan

On the other hand, the Met Office said on Sunday that rains, accompanied by heavy rains, would again lash different parts of Sindh and Balochistan during the next 24 hours.

It said that showers were expected in Karachi, Hyderabad, Dadu, Kalat, Khuzdar, Jafarabad, Sibbi, Naseerabad, Barkhan and Lasbela, which could result in flooding of streams and nullahs.