RAWALPINDI "Long spell of rain Friday brought the mercury level in most parts of the country including Rawalpindi turning the weather cold and chilly. The showers started at dawn and continued almost for the whole day with varying pace. The chilly gushes along with showers forced the dwellers indoors all the while, Business activities too came to almost standstill. There was a surge in demand for hot drinks like tea, coffee, soups and dry fruits like almond nuts, giri, pistachio, dry dates, black raisins, cashew and pistachio. Sale of for umbrellas and warm garments also increased. Sometime it rained heavily in the after noon turning most of the points of the city especially the low-lying areas into mini pools. These mini pools caused massive traffic jams despite efforts made by the city traffic wardens to manage the rush. Inches deep rainwater accumulated on the roads for instance, Dhamial Road, Dhok Seydan Road, Mall Road, Kuri Road and Caltax Road, which speaks the volume of the negligence of the authorities concerned. Meanwhile, the streets and roads which have been dug out by the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) for laying pipelines in different localities of the city got filled with rain water, which added more in difficulties of citizens. Raja Bazaar, Jinnah Road, Banni, Dingi Khoe, College Road, Arya Mohala, Committee Chowk, Dhoke Elahi Bux, Dhoke Hassu, Westridge, Sattelite Town, Rehmanabad, Sadiqabad, 6th Road, Jhanda Cheechi, District Courts, Police Line, Tulsa, Dheri Hasanabad, Lalkurti, Tahli Mohri, Bakra Mandi, Girja Road, Mumtaz Market, Ali Town, Hill View Lane, Jirahi, Kehkashan Colony, Adaila Road, Tench Bhatta, Chungi Number 22, Peoples Colony and a number of other points were inundated with rain water. The sewerage lines and nullahs of Sadiqabad and Tahli Mohri were also choked and dirty water entered the houses of the residents caused loss of valuables. The residents of Katchi Abadis at Chungi Number 20, Mareer Hassan, Pirwadhai and Iqbal Road (Sadiqabad) gave a miserable picture and rain badly affected the houses made with mud and branches of trees. Friday's morning rain caused inconvenience to commuters. The bus and wagon stops were full of passengers while a large number of motorcyclists were found taking shelter under some proper place to save themselves from rain. The children were packed in warm clothes to avoid the affect of such cold weather. Cart pushers and vendors faced hardships in the rain that badly affected their business. Attendance in educational institutions was thin due to cold. The rain also affected the business activities in the city as most markets presented a deserted look. Rainwater wrecked havoc in grain, vegetable and fruit mandis of Raja Bazaar and Pirwadhai. The early morning trade activities, which is the main feature of these markets remained slow. According to Met Office, Rawalpindi and Islamabad received 17mm rain, Peshawar 60mm, Dir 55mm, Quetta 52mm, Kalam 43mm, Jhang 42mm, Parachinar 38mm, Dorosh 35mm, Kohat 27mm, Bannu 24mm, Attock 21mm, Patan 19mm, Mianwali 19mm, Chitral18mm, Faisalabad 15mm, DI Khan 12mm, Zob and Abbotabad 11mm, and Kalat received 10mm rain. The temperature of city was recorded 10 degree C. Met Office further forecast that rain would continue for next 24 hours in most parts of the city while the hilly areas of the country could experience a heavy snowfall.