Heavy rain lashed the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Friday, setting alarm bells ringing after the water level surged to 19 feet high in Nullah Leh.
Several low-lying areas of Rawalpindi submerged after the heavy rainfall that started at around 12 pm and continued till 4 pm. According to the Met Office, 82 millimetres of rain was recorded in Rawalpindi and the catchment area of the Leh, leading to a flood-like situation along the nullah.
The water level in Nullah Leh was over 19 feet at New Katarian Bridge and about 15 feet at Gawalmandi in the heart of Rawalpindi city.
Although the water in Nullah Leh receded after the rain stopped, all operational wings of the local administration had been put on high alert as the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast more rains during the next 24 hours.
The district government had declared an emergency and alerted all departments to cope with any eventuality following the heavy rainfall on Friday morning.
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According to the PMD, the Rawalpindi city received around 35 mm of rain while the catchment areas of Nullah Leh received over 83 mm of rainfall.
Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) ManagingDirector Awais Manzoor Tarrar said rainwater submerged low-lying areas near Katarian, Javed Colony, Aryan Mohallah, Gawalmandi, Millat Colony, Mohallah Workshpee, Gawala road, Ratta Amral, Dhoke Ratta, Phagwara and Mohllah Raja Sultan.
He said that the RWMC’s and all other operational wings of the district administration remained engaged to clear the rainwater that had entered several houses.
Officials said that residents of low-lying areas will be evacuated to safe places if the water level reaches 20 feet in Nullah Leh.
Meanwhile, the torrential rains at the end of the monsoon season have filled the three dams supplying water to the twin cities. The spillways of Rawal Dam were opened after the water level touched the brim.
With the dams filled up, the water crisis in Rawalpindi and Islamabad has been averted this year. After the rain, the water level reached 1,752 acre-feet in Rawal Dam, which has a storage capacity of 1,750 acre-feet. Due to rains in the last two days, spillways of Rawal Dam were opened to discharge the excess water.
The spillways will be reopened in the next 24 hours, officials maintained. They said that after the two-day rain, Simli Dam which supplies water to Islamabad has also filled to the capacity. They added that the last rainfall of the monsoon season has also improved the groundwater water table.
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Water and Sanitation Agency Vice Chairman Haroon Kamal Hashmi told The Express Tribune that the dams have been flooded due to recent rains.
“At present, these dams have enough water for one year and there is no water crisis threat in Rawalpindi and Islamabad in 2021 and next summer 2022,” he said, adding that work has now been started to construct Daducha Dam in Rawalpindi.
“This dam will be completed in the next two years, while a plan to bring water from Ghazi Brotha to solve the water crisis of Rawalpindi and Islamabad for 100 years is also in final stages. A consultant has been appointed and the foundation stone of the project will be laid in 2022,” he said, adding that all 500 tube wells of WASA were also operational.
On the other hand, with the opening of Rawal Dam's spillways, a large number of citizens flocked to Korang Nullah on Friday to catch the fish.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2021.
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