RAWALPINDI: Heavy rain on Sunday raised the water level in Leh Nullah to 10 feet, just a few feet below the flood level, forcing the dwellers of the low-lying areas to pass a sleepless night.

The meteorological department recorded 52 millimetres (mm) of rainfall in Islamabad and 55mm in Rawalpindi and forecast isolated rains in the twin cities in the next 24 hours.

The rain started at 3:10am and continued till 11am. The continuous spell of rain created slushy mess in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, especially along the route of the under-construction metro bus project.

The rain also exposed the tall claims of the city district government Rawalpindi that it had cleared the heaps of mud and construction material waste from the main roads for the smooth flow of traffic. Due to the construction work, the drainage system in downtown and the areas adjacent to Leh Nullah remained choked and rainwater entered houses and shops in the low-lying areas.

Rainwater entered houses in low-lying areas of Rawalpindi

People had a tough time in draining out rainwater in Bazaar Kallan, Dingi Khoi, Raja Bazaar, Akalgarh, Nadeem Colony, Javed Colony, Dhoke Ratta, Gunjmandi, Jamia Masjid Road, Bani Chowk, Sadiqabad, Satellite Town, Commercial Market, College Road, Bohar Bazaar, Naya Mohallah, Raja Bazaar, Mohanpura, Nanakpura, Arjan Nagar, Amarpura and other areas.

Zahid Hussain, a resident of Jamia Masjid Road, said three feet of water accumulated on the road and choked the drains. “It took about five hours to drain out the water from houses in our locality.”

He said he called the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company officials for help in draining out the water from the street in front of tubewell No 150 but they refused to come. “The whole Mohallah then hired sanitary workers to clear the water,” he said.

Yasir Irfat Butt, resident of a street in front of Imambargah Qadeemi, said the local administration had failed to clean drains and nullahs. He said with the start of rain sewage entered his house.

“We are paying taxes on everything but in return the provincial government provides us no facility. It spends billions of rupees on the metro bus project but never paid any heed to resolve the basic civic issues,” he said.

Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) Managing Director Raja Shaukat Mehmood said all the civic agencies remained on red alert to deal with any untoward situation as the water level in Nullah Leh increased.

He said the water level in the nullah was recorded 14 feet at New Kattarian and 12 feet at Gowalmandi.

The Jamia Masjid Road and other areas were inundated with rainwater due to the choked nullahs. He said the cleanliness of the nullahs was the responsibility of the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2014