Rain lashes city as mercury drops

Many areas witness power failures, gas shortages

LAHORE:

Following the first winter rain on Tuesday, the distribution system of the power utility tripped and pushed several neighbourhoods of the provincial capital into darkness.

Residents from different neighbourhoods of Township, Green Town, Garden Town, Iqbal Town, Lahore Cantt, Shadman, Ferozepur Road, Multan Road, Samanabad, Baghbanpura and Urdu Bazaar complained about prolonged power failures in their areas after rain.

They also complained about the acute shortage of gas in their areas following a drop in mercury levels in the city after the rain.

Residents of Nawaz Sharif Colony on Ferozepur Road also staged a protest against the suspension of gas supply in their areas.

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A spokesperson for the power utility said maintenance staff of the company was in the field to resolve public complaints but it would take some time to restore electricity supply completely in the city owing to safety reasons. He indicated that it was a standard operating procedure (SOP) of the company to not work on power lines during rain.

“As soon as the weather situation improves, field staff of the company will resolve public complaints,” he added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Metrological Department (PMD) forecasted that a strong westerly wave is affecting most parts of the country and may persist till Sunday. Widespread intermittent rain with snow over the hills is expected in Punjab, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir Balochistan and Sindh.

Isolated heavy downpours are also likely in Balochistan during the period. Heavy rain and good snowfall are likely in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The weather report highlights that cloudy weather is expected in most districts of the province. However, rain wind-thunderstorm is expected in the Pothohar region, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Khushab, Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Hafizabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Narowal, Lahore, Kasur, Mandi Bahauddin, Mianwali, Sargodha, Bhakkar, Layyah, Multan, Rajanpur. Khanewal, Sahiwal, Okara, Bahawalnagar, DG Khan, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan on Tuesday night. Good snowfall is also likely in Murree and Galiyat.

Wednesday weather forecast shows cloudy weather in most districts of the province. However, intermittent rain wind-thunderstorm is expected in Pothohar region, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Khushab, Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Hafizabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Narowal, Lahore, Kasur, Mandi Bahauddin, Mianwali, Sargodha, Bhakkar, Layyah, Multan, Rajanpur. Khanewal, Sahiwal, Okara, Bahawalnagar, DG Khan, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan.

Heavy rain is also likely in upper Punjab (Sialkot, Narowal, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Lahore and Potohar region) and good snowfall in Murree and Galiyat.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2022.