KARACHI, Aug 18: The ongoing monsoon rains on one hand have forced many to suspend their daily economic activities but on the other, there are people who are benefiting from these showers.

The sights of broken down vehicles on roads heavily inundated with rainwater are quite common these days. In such a situation, mechanics equipped with tools roaming around the streets surely prove to be a sigh of relief to the many stranded with their vehicles.

“Initially I thought the two men approaching me on a motorcycle following Thursday’s heavy downpour will mug me, but fortunately they turned out to be auto-mechanics, making most out of the crippling rain,” said Ali Azmat whose car broke down at Sharea Faisal.

Azmat said that these ‘mobile mechanics’ did charge the stranded motorists exorbitantly, but in majority of the cases they ended up repairing the cars.

He remarked that it took them around 20 to 30 minutes to start up the car, but they did it, making my return home on wheels possible.

Even at around 2am, Thursday, mobile mechanics armed with their tools and riding on motorcycles or cycles were seen inquiring from the people standing near the parked cars along Sharea Faisal and M.A Jinnah Road, if they needed help.

At 2:50am, Thursday, near Shaheen Complex at I.I. Chundrigar Road where water had receded, technical hands were seen busy trying to start up some broken down vehicles.

The role of these ‘mobile mechanics’ did not end early Thursday night; they were all set to offer their services on Friday morning when people returned to take their vehicles back. People did utilise their services, finally taking back their vehicles from different parts of the city.

However, some of the people who had left behind their vehicles either due to the several hours long traffic jam or on account of car trouble, found their accessories missing on Friday morning when they returned to take their vehicles.

“You could not expect a CD player to remain intact in your abandoned car these days”, remarked a duty officer of the Baloch Colony police station who was contacted by Dawn to probe into such reports.

On the stretch of road between Metropole to Sindh Muslim Cooperative Housing Society around two dozen cars were parked at road sides on Sharea Faisal. Not only old cars were abandoned, but cars of new models were also dumped by their owners apparently due to traffic jam.