Double-edged sword: Downpour inundates parts of City

Traffic jams witnessed across Lahore

LAHORE: As mercury plummeted on Wednesday with the city being lashed by a heavy downpour, standing water across its low-lying areas and a protracted power outage made citizens’ lives hell.

Chief Meteorologist Muhammad Riaz said 81mm of rain had been recorded in the provincial metropolis. “More rain is expected on Thursday (today). Another rain spell is expected around June 28 and 29. The weather is expected to remain partly overcast,” he said.

A Pakistan Meteorological Department report stated that low pressure lies over north Balochistan with its trough extending south-eastward. Moderate moist currents from the Arabian Sea were penetrating across the country’s upper and central parts. This was likely to continue over the next 24 to 36 hours, the document read.

The report stated that a westerly wave had been affecting upper parts of the country and was likely to continue over the aforementioned timeframe. Under the influence of such meteorological conditions, the weather would remain warm across most parts of the country during the day, the document read. However, more rain/thunderstorms accompanied by strong gusty winds were expected across isolated spots across the Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Hazara, Malakand, Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Quetta, Zhob, Sibbi, Naseerabad, Sukkur, Larkana Divisions,  the FATA, the ICT and Azad J&K.

Heavy showers left many areas across Lahore inundated. These included Lakshmi Chowk, Anarkali, GPO Chowk, Supreme Court Registry, Waris Road, Lawrence Road, Kashmir Road, Cooper Road, Shadman, Shah Jamal, Garhi Shahu, Mustafaabad, GT Road, Model Town, Johar Town, Barkat Market, China Scheme and Baghbanpura among others. Traffic remained stagnant on The Mall after water collected in front of the Supreme Court Registry. Traffic jams were also witnessed on the GT Road and thoroughfares along the route of the Orange Line Metro Train project (OLMT).

The underground section of the orange line was also inundated with water. OLMT Project Contractor Shahid Saleem placed the onus for this on the failure of a nearby Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) station. “There is no cause for concern. We were ready to deal with moderate rainfall but had not expected such a heavy downpour. Water will be pumped out to resume construction work,” he said.

Commissioner Abdullah Khan Sumbal, DCO Muhammad Usman, senior Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) and Wasa officials remained in the field to supervise a rainwater drainage operation. Heavy showers caused 200 Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) feeders to trip leaving various parts of the city without power. Many public department offices, hospitals and utility company establishments remained without electricity for hours at a stretch. Traders bemoaned over five-hour-long power outages across bazaars in the wake of the downpour.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2016.