Rain inundates low-lying Rawalpindi areas
Lightning streaked through the night sky as rain poured over the metropolis on Friday. Commuters navigated through inundat-ed roads and choked arteries as rain water accumulated in different parts of the city. PHOTOS: JALAL QURESHI/EXPRESS
Various low-lying areas of Rawalpindi were submerged as heavy rain on Wednesday morning raised the water level in Nullah Leh by up to 11 feet.
The areas of Murree Road, Commerical Market, Liaquat Road, Jamia Masjid Road, Sadiqabad, Commercial Market, Chamanzaar, Tipu Road, Nadeem Colony, Dhok Dalal were submerged. Water entered homes and caused extensive damage in some localities.
The teams of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) drained the water from the affected areas. The officials said that around 75 millimetres (mm) of rain fell owing to which the water level in Nullah Leh rose to 11 feet at Katarian while the water level at Gawalmandi rose to 10 feet.
The WASA Managing Director (MD) Shaukat Mehmood visited both spots while the agency’s staff drained out water from low-lying areas of Rawalpindi.
Earlier on Tuesday, heavy rains of up to 90 mm in the inner city areas inundated many roads. Owing to choked sewage drains, the water accumulated on footpaths was recorded to be up to three feet.
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The citizens have criticised the Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation (RMC) over the non-cleaning of sewerage drains. They said that such a situation could be prevented if RMC cleans the sewers on time.
Meanwhile, the present spell of rain has increased the threat of dengue larvae in the district. Chairing a meeting to review the anti-dengue campaign on Wednesday, Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali directed officials to revise the anti-dengue plan keeping in view the changing weather conditions. He asked the officials to control the breeding of mosquito larvae as this was the only way to combat dengue.
He said September was crucial for dengue mosquito breeding as the temperature was decreasing with each passing day. He called upon residents to be alert and keep an eye on junkyards, schools and under construction buildings that can act as breeding spots for dengue larvae and not allow stagnant water.
The DC directed the officials to ensure the implementation of anti-dengue SOPs, adding that effective community participation was needed to defeat dengue and Covid-19.
WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM APP
Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2021.