Preparedness tested: Rain disrupts life in city

70 LESCO feeders tripped causing power breakdown in various areas

LAHORE: Rain crippled routine life in the provincial capital on Saturday, leaving several low-lying areas submerged.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast more rain in parts of the country in the next two to three days.

The rain led to power breakdowns in several areas, as more than 70 feeders of the Lahore Electricity Supply Company (LESCO) had tripped. Although the staff of the City District Government of Lahore, Water and Sanitation Agency, Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) and many public representatives remained in the field, Saturday’s rain exposed government’s preparations to deal with the situation.

Gulberg, Model Town, Township, Johar Town, Barkat Market, Garden Town, Allama Iqbal Town, Ichhra, Wahdat Road, Walton Road, Defence, Samanabad, Bund Road, Kashmir Road, Cooper Road, Grand Trunk Road and most areas of the northern towns remained under rainwater, causing a huge inconvenience to the residents of these areas. Accumulation of rainwater on major roads disrupted traffic in many areas of the city. Many vehicles were seen stuck in rainwater on the roads.



Auto mechanics had a field day, as many vehicles broke down in rainwater, which had accumulated on various roads. Several mechanics had set up kiosks on Walton Road to land a windfall.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, commuter Wajid Mughal said the rain had exposed development and engineering standards. “A few hours of rain has exposed effectiveness of the drainage system. Water ponds can be seen even in posh localities of the city, but the authorities have made no arrangements to deal with this situation,” he said.

A WASA spokesman told The Express Tribune that more than 1,800 workers had been in the field to clear the rainwater on the streets. He said the agency had mobilised all its machinery to remove water from the streets in the shortest possible time, but rain was a natural phenomenon and it was beyond agency’s control.

PMD Chief Meteorologist Muhammad Riaz said that more than 64 millimetres of rain had been recorded in the city till Saturday noon and more rain was expected in the coming week.

According to the weather report issued by the PMD, more rain accompanied by gusty winds and isolated heavy falls was expected at a number of places in the Punjab, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Kashmir. Scattered rain was likely in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Gilgit-Baltistan and eastern Balochistan in the next 24 hours. The weather report said that heavy downpour might trigger flash floods and landslides in vulnerable areas in the Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir.

Lahore District Coordination Officer (DCO) Capt (r) Muhammad Usman has appealed to people to keep away from electricity wires and poles, avoid ponding at rooftops and vacate dilapidated buildings. He has directed the town administrations to clear rainwater from the roads at the earliest.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2016.