11 February 2005	Friday	01 Muharram 1426

LAHORE, Feb 10: The provincial metropolis and several other cities in the Punjab continued to receive rain for the second consecutive day on Thursday, and the meteorological office forecast that the spell would start breaking on Saturday.

In Lahore, it continued to rain intermittently almost throughout the day, making people yearn for a clear sunny day.

Chief Meteorologist Shaukat Awan said it would again rain in Lahore and elsewhere in the province on Friday (today).

Mr Awan said the system, which was deep and unprecedented, had started moving out gradually. It was now losing its intensity but the plains of the Punjab would have a sunny day on Sunday. It would remain cloudy with chances of some showers on Saturday, he said.

The rain continued to create inconvenience for people. Low-lying roads and streets remained inundated due to which people faced difficulties in travelling by public transport.

Many parents did not send their children to schools because of the heavy rain in the morning. Attendance in offices too remained thin.

By 8pm, the Met office had recorded 11mm of rain at its Jail Road observatory. It had recorded 5mm of rain at the airport by 5pm.

The maximum temperature was 16.3 degrees C and the minimum 10.7 degrees C with 88 per cent humidity in the morning and 89 per cent in the evening.

According to the Met office, Rahim Yar Khan received 16mm of rain, Faisalabad and Dera Ghazi Khan 13mm, Multan 12mm, Sargodha 11mm, Sahiwal 3mm and Mandi Bahuddin 2mm. Bahawalnagar, Jhelum and Sialkot had traces of rain.

APP adds in the absence of adequate drainage facilities, many localities like Sanda, Mozang, Wassanpura and Baghbanpura were converted into puddles, creating problems for the commuters and pedestrians.