People take shelter from rain under a bridge. PHOTO: ZAFAR ASLAM/EXPRESS
RAWALPINDI/ ISLAMABAD: After two days of hot and humid weather, rain and gusty winds on the third day brought some relief and joy to residents of the twin cities on Wednesday.
Even for people stuck on the highway while returning home from hill stations, the wait in the miles-long queues was made somewhat bearable.
Within the capital, the turn of weather meant a number of residents ventured out from their climate-controlled abodes to enjoy some rain and cool breeze.
People also thronged picnic spots on the third day such as Daman-e-Koh, Pir Sohawa, Marghazar Zoo, Murree Road leading to Rawal Lake View Park. As a result, major roads of the capital such as the Margalla Road and Murree Road were choked with due to heavy traffic flow heading to these spots and those returning from these areas.
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), strong winds blew in the capital, reaching speeds of 50 kilometres per hour followed by heavy rain on Wednesday morning. Saidpur received the most rain where 54 millimeters of rain was recorded, Bokra received 32 mm of rain, while Zero Point received 28 mm.
Rains lash Pindi
Intermittent rain over the three days of Eid, however, kept officials of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) on their toes who patrolled the streets with their machinery.
Heavy showers early on Monday, while turning the weather pleasant, left low-lying areas of the city such as Javaid Colony, Gawalmandi, Daryabad, Bangash Colony, Arya Mohalla, Dhoke Chiragh Din and Marrir Hassan, inundated.According to the PMD, around 35 millimetres of rain was recorded in Rawalpindi on Monday morning. Heavy rain with strong winds lashed the garrison for around two hours.
On Wednesday, Rawalpindi again received heavy rain with Chaklala recording 39 mm of rain and Shamsabad receiving six millimeters of rain. A senior official of WASA said that water levels in Nullah Leh rose 12 feet. Moreover, a number of streets were flooded with rain and sewerage water owing to overflowing drains.
WASA, the official said, had to use suction pumps to drain the streets of rainwater including Murree Road, Rawal Road, Zafarul Haq Road, Tipu Road, Jamia Masjid Road, Sadiqbad and other areas.
With rains lashing Rawalpindi again on Wednesday, there were fears of a flood in Nullah Leh. However, Umer Farooq, a spokesperson for WASA, said that despite the heavy rains in the twin cities, it thus far had no impact on the flow of water in Nullah Leh even though water level in the drain rose to six feet – the red line is 16 feet. Despite that, the agency declared rain emergency in the city on Wednesday and cancelled holidays of all supervisory and field staff.
A meteorologist at the PMD told The Express Tribune that the next 24 hours were crucial for Rawalpindi division where heavy rain was expected and could cause the water level in Nullah Leh to increase.
He added said that weather is likely to remain pleasant on Thursday (today).
Published in The Express Tribune, June 29th, 2017.
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