SIALKOT-All the main roads here were inundated with the water and sewerage after rain; and the protective dykes of Nullah Dek, recently repaired with Rs200 million, developed breaches again even ahead of the expected floods.
The heavy rains lashed the Sialkot region on Friday for second consecutive day. The worst hit areas include Model Town, Kutchery Road, Paris Road, Abbot Road, Jail Road, Railway Road, Mujahid Road, Shahabpura Road, Rangpura, Hajipura, Prem Nagar, Pooran Nagar, Commissioner Road, Allama Iqbal Chowk, Khadim Ali Road, Airport Road, Hajipura Road and link roads.
Meanwhile, sewerage and drainage lines overflowed due to rain in Sialkot, Daska, Sambrial and Pasrur cities. They remained under the knee-deep rainy and sewerage water due to which several transport vehicles remained struck on these roads.
On the other hand, the electricity and telecommunication systems were badly damaged here due to which the electricity remained suspended for several consecutive hours. As a result, electrical motors could not spill out the drainage and rainwater, as the Sialkot, Daska, Sambrial and Pasrur cities remained inundated, badly paralyzing all the civic, business, trade and social activities.
Various district officers visited the inundated urban areas of Sialkot city and they monitored the situation after this heavy rain here.
They said that Sialkot TMA has established four flood and rain emergency camps in Sialkot city’s congested Allama Iqbal Chowk, Rangpura Chowk, Shahabpura Chowk and Kashmir Road to meet any emergency situation. They said that the sanitation staff of Sialkot TMA was busy in dewatering the rainy from Sialkot city with as many as 19 dewatering sets, five disposal stations, 3 excavators, three sucker machines and drag line exevators there. The officials of Sialkot MET office have forecast more widespread rains in the Sialkot region.
On the other side, the protective dykes of Nullah Dek, recently repaired with Rs200 million to save Pasrur city and villages from floods, has developed breaches even ahead of the expected floods due to use of substandard material. According to the officials of the Pasrur Irrigation Department, the protective dyke was badly hit and breached at several points near village Chahoor during the 2014 flash floods. After this, the dyke was repaired and reconstructed at various spot by spending Rs200 million to save the Pasrur villages from flooding again.
However, substandard material was used in its repairing due to which the dyke has breached and badly damaged even before the start of the rainy and flood season. Local social, religious and political circles have feared that now the Pasrur villages would be flooded again during flood due to the critical situation.
They said that the government has allegedly left the Pasrur people at the mercy of the coming floods, as no one has yet taken note of the situation, which has become too much dangerous due to the slackness of the district administration. They expressed grave concern over the dangerous situation and urged Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif to look into the matter.