August 12, 2008	Tuesday	Sha'aban 9, 1429

SIALKOT, Aug 11: The sewerage and rainwater entered houses and shops in most of the congested localities of the city after a heavy rainfall on Monday.

The heavy spell of rain caused the choked sewerage and drainage line to overflow inundating various localities, including New Mianapura, Green Wood Street, Nihal Chand Street, Prem Nagar, Pooran Nagar, Nishat Park, Muhammadpura, Pakpura, Hajipura, Naikapura, Rangpura, Fatehgarh, Pakka Garha and Chowk Dara Araiyaan.

The downpour also paralyzed all the civic and business activities in the city.

The affected people remained busy in saving their precious belongings side by side flushing out the sewerage and rainwater from their houses and shops.

They cursed the tehsil municipal administration for falling down on the job to revamp the decades-old sewerage and drainage system.

Most of the main city arteries, including Kutchery Road, Paris Road, Abbot Road, Jail Road, Railway Road, Mujahid Road, Commissioner Road, Allama Iqbal Chowk, Khadim Ali Road, Sialkot Airport Road and Hajipura Road, presented the picture of streams.

Sialkot Tehsil Nazim Imtiazuddin Dar ordered a strict departmental action against the TMA’s sanitation staff for their failure to clear the choked sewerage.

Dozens of uprooted trees fell on main roads that hampered flow of traffic on Sialkot-Daska-Gujranwala Road, Sialkot-Sambrial-Wazirabad Road and Pasrur-Narowal Road.

The electricity supply remained suspended for several hours in both urban and rural areas of Sialkot, Daska, Sambrial and Pasrur tehsils.

The local meteorological office forecast more heavy rains in the Sialkot region during the next 24 hours.