Minor girl drowns in Nullah Leh

A five-year-old girl drowned in Nullah Leh in Rawalpindi after the city witnessed intermittent moderate to heavy downpour starting on Sunday morning till noon.

According to Rescue 1122 officials, the child was swept away after she fell into the watercourse in Habib Colony before she was taken out and given first aid. The girl was later shifted to Railways Hospital where she succumbed to the injuries.

Though the city saw heavy rainfall, the water level in Nullah Leh remained below 10 feet.

The water level in Nullah Leh at Gawalmandi rose to 10 feet and 5 feet at Kataria. As the rain stopped, the water level in Nullah Leh subsided.

Several low-lying areas in the city and Cantonment were inundated due to flooding caused by the rain.

The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) deployed teams in low-lying areas to pump out water as citizens struggled to save their valuables.

Several vehicles were stranded on GT Road as rainwater accumulated near Rawat, badly impacting the traffic flow.

Residents of Rawalpindi Cantonment, Tench Bhatta's John Colony, Chak Jalaluddin, Christian Colony, Adara, Habib Colony were flooded. The Cantonment board did not complete the cleaning of sewerage drains, which caused flooding after the rain.

In Dhok Rata, seven buffaloes were rescued by Rescue 1122 teams after they were swept away. Rainwater also entered the porches and rooms of the District Headquarters Hospital in Rawalpindi. Medical Superintendent Dr Farzana said that renovation work was going on in the hospital and due to lack of windows, rainwater entered the hospital which was later removed. “The renovation work will be completed in the next three to four weeks,” she said.

According to the Met Office, 111 millimetres of rain was recorded in Rawalpindi. Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi Muhammad Ali, WASA Managing Director Raja Shaukat Mehmood along with flood control and other teams reviewed the water situation along Nullah Leh and other low-lying areas of the city.

The deputy commissioner said that all arrangements have been made to deal with the emergency.

WASA MD Raja Shaukat Mehmood said that due to the cleaning of Nullah Leh and low rainfall in Islamabad, the water level in Nullah Leh could not rise above 10 feet.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2021.