Torrential rains bring life to a standstill

Torrential rain coupled with a hailstorm on Wednesday brought the life to a standstill in the Hazara division and decreased temperatures.

The current series of rain in the region particularly Wednesday’s heavy downpour triggered landslide and flash floods which have disconnected several remote hilly areas from the cities in districts Abbottabad and Kohistan.

District Abbottabad is the worst hit by the unprecedented rain in the month of May which has also decreased temperatures up to 10 degrees as compared to the previous years. The early morning heavy rain coupled with hail and thunderstorms in the district of Abbottabad and parts of the region produced flash floods which entered residential areas of Abbottabad city and blocked the main Mansehra Road at several places.

In Abbottabad city, from the main bus terminal to Ayub Medical Complex, the main Mansehra Road was blocked at five places where flash flood water entered the road and traffic was stuck for hours. People have started using warm clothes which is unusual as the end of May is considered as the start of the peak winter season.

On Wednesday, in Abbottabad city temperatures were recorded 17-degree centigrade while in Galiyat and Thandyani it was less than 9 degrees centigrade.

The metrological department has forecast more rain and hailstorm during the next 48 hours in the region which would further decrease the temperatures while Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has also warned people living near water channels and streams to take precautionary measures.

Schoolteachers promoted

On the same day, the Directorate of Education for Boys Schools Abbottabad Wednesday issued promotion orders for 227 primary school teachers (PST).

According to the notification, the departmental promotions committee promoted teachers from a scale of 12 to 15, from 14 to 15 scale and from 12 to a scale of 14.

As per the orders, 97 teachers have been promoted from PST scale 12 to Senior Primary School Teacher (SPST) scale 14. Furthermore, 89 teachers have been promoted from SPST to Primary School Head Teacher scale of 15.

Similarly, 41 teachers have been promoted from a PST scale of 12 to a Certified Teacher scale of 15. District Education Officer Muhammad Tanveer informed the media that all the orders have been issued based on merit, keeping in view the future of the nation's children. He said that no recommendations or favouritism of any kind have been considered, the promoted teachers now have new responsibilities and they should work with even more dedication to ensure the future of the children.

The DEO male said that compromise will be made on duty and that any form of negligence will not be tolerated.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2023.