Punjab rains claim first casualty

LAHORE:

Although the weather temporarily turned pleasant after heavy rains across the province on Thursday, yet it was not an unmixed blessing since it resulted in one casualty and many injuries, besides the damage it caused to things material.

The casualty occurred on the outskirts of Okara where a 55-year-old woman, who lived in a house with a roof of bamboo sticks, died when the roof collapsed, suffocating her to death under the weight of the bamboos.

On the other hand, seven people were injured when the roof of a mosque caved in due to rain in Adda Panwan, a Tehsil of Shahkot district in Nankana Sahib.

Moreover, roof of a dilapidated house collapsed in Kasur, burying two young men, Ghulam Akbar and Owais, under its debris. Rescue 1122 staff reached the spot, cleared the debris and shifted the injured to the hospital where their condition was said to be stable.

Rain damaged many crops including that of melon, watermelon, corn and wheat in the surroundings of Sarai Mughal, Sirsingh Chak 50, Dolo Multani and Beharwal Kalan. The All Pakistan Kisan Ittehad has demanded of the government to compensate their losses. They also demanded of the government to wave payment of Abiana.

Besides, slum areas got severely affected by rain in and around Chunian.

According to the Met office, light and heavy rains will continue in Punjab due to low pressure system coming in from the west.

Meanwhile, wheat and vegetable crops in several villages of the Soan Valley suffered significant damage due to the stormy weather.

The villages affected by the inclement weather were Khabaki, Kunhati, Ahmedabad, Beyakh and Khora. The estimated losses ran into millions of rupees. The loss means that production of wheat in the valley is likely to drop by 200 to 500 kilograms an acre.

The rain occurred when wheat was in its final stages of preparation.

Malik Shahzad Awan, a farmer in Khora village, said that the wheat crop had suffered a lot due to the rain and hailstorm.

He said the farmers of the valley had already been down in the dumps over not getting proper prices for their crops in the markets. And after the losses caused by the rain they felt as if a mountain had fallen on them.

The potential damage to vegetables would result in consumers loosening their purse strings.

Just a couple of days ago, rain cold wind and hail brought by clouds coming from the west had reduced the intensity of heat across the country.

The maximum temperature in Lahore had dropped from 37 to 28 degrees Celsius. According to the meteorological department, more rain was expected in the city. The city had witnessed intervals of dark clouds and sunshine with cold wind in the morning, followed by heavy and light rain in different areas on Tuesday.

Gulshan Ravi had received the highest rainfall of 24mm, while Johar Town and Samanabad received 12mm of rain. On the other hand, Farahabad recorded the lowest rainfall of 1mm.

Lakshmi Chowk and Shalimar Town had recorded 11mm of rain during the day. On the other hand, the routine life of many citizens had been affected by the weather. Those working outdoors were the worst affected.

Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Managing Director Ghufran Ahmed issued instructions to the staff to keep all disposal stations clean and all generators on standby.

He had said all the underpasses and main roads of the city should be cleared immediately in case of rain.

WASA was instructed to rain alert in view of the rain forecast. The Lahore commissioner also issued instructions that all the relevant staff and equipment should be kept active in the field.

Chief Meteorologist Khalid Mehmood Malik said rains were continuing in Lahore and other areas of Punjab due to low clouds coming from the west.

He had said the rain and cloudy weather were likely to continue till Thursday. He said the intensity of heat in the city would remain less than last week and the weather would remain pleasant.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2023.