City experiences first monsoon rain

Power supply suspended across city right after the first drop of rain

KARACHI:

Power went out with the first drop of rain in Karachi, where many roads were left flooded due to the moderate to light downpour which exposed the claims of the city authorities about preparing for the monsoon season.

The metropolitan city on Monday received moderate to light rain under the first spell of the monsoon season early on Monday morning. It started pouring at 6 am and continued till noon in some of the areas of the metropolis.

The downpour and following winds turned the weather pleasant and broke the spell of hot and humid weather.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) issued the figures for the received rainfall.

With 35-mm, Gulshan-eHadeed recorded the highest rainfall while PAF Faisal Base recorded 32-mm, Saadi Town 27.8-mm, North Karachi 24.4-mm, Surjani 20.4-mm, Landhi 18-mm, Old airport 17-mm and University road 16.3-mm. There was 14.2 mm recorded at Jinnah terminal, 12.2-mm in Nazimabad, 11.5- mm in PAF Masroor Base, and 5.2-mm in Kemari.

According to Karachi Chief Meteorologist Sardar Sarfaraz, the monsoon winds have formed a pattern that is entering Sindh. A low-pressure area has formed in the nearby areas of Indian Gujarat near the southeast of Karachi due to which all the districts of lower Sindh are experiencing a monsoon spell, said Sarfaraz. He said that Karachi, Hyderabad, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Umarkot, and Jamshoro are likely to experience intermittent rains in effect of the system.

The chief meteorologist further stated that light and sometimes moderate may fall on the city and could escalate to downpours on occasion. This may continue for the three to four days or till the night of July 16 or possibly even July 17, he added.

Power outage

Though the shift of weather was pleasing to some, the long-awaited start of the monsoon resulted into power shutdown in across the city. Almost the entire city was blacked-out right after the first drop of rain fell, as over 800 feeders tripped. Mehmoodabad, Lyari, Old City area, Garden, Saddar, Defence, Clifton, Lines area including various others were among the most affected, where the power supply couldn't be restored for around 10 hours while

Gadap Town, Korangi, Ahsanabad, Landhi, Bhains Colony, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, North Karachi, Surjani Town, Federal B area, Liaquatabad and others were partly affected. The residents of affected areas reported several cases of cable breakages and blasts in the PMTs.

They claimed that hundreds of complaints had been filed, following which the K-Electric helpline became busy on a constant basis. Stating the reason behind the city-wide power supply suspension, the K-Electric (KE) spokesperson came up with the traditional response, blaming the power outages on 'technical faults in some areas'.

Only a few areas such as Gadap Town, Korangi, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Surjani Town and other suburbs of the city were affected, claimed the spokesperson, adding that the overall power supply situation remained normal.

Besides, the spokesperson appealed to the citizens to stay cautious and away from switches, electricity poles and cables. Roads inundation Moreover, the heavy downpour left all the thoroughfares inundated with rainwater, which slowed down the movement of traffic.

Karachi Traffic Police claimed to be present on the roads to ensure that traffic jams don't occur on the roads submerged in rainwater.

However, the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board enforced a rain emergency at all its offices and the roads were cleared of the water, manually and through dewatering pumps, soon after.

Wahab makes rounds of city Government Spokesperson Murtaza Wahab also visited rain-hit areas such as Shahrah- e -Faisal, Mahmoodabad, Drigh Road, Shah Faisal, Malir Halt, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Nipa Chowrangi, Gulshan Chowrangi, Sohrab Goth, Gujjar Nala, Nazimabad, North Karachi, Mauripur, Saddar, Burns Road, Korangi Road, Kala Pul, Akhtar Colony, Clifton, Gizri and others after the rain to review the situation and inspect rainwater drainage. 

Officials of Karachi Metropolitan Corporations, District Municipal Corporations, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board and other administration departments briefed Wahab about the arrangements. Wahab expressed satisfaction over the smooth functioning of the drainage system and other arrangements