MIRPURKHAS: A man and a woman were killed by lightning as a thunderstorm followed by widespread rains hit several districts and coastal areas of Sindh for the second day on Thursday. The rainfall caused flooding of roads and streets and hampered efforts by the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company to restore power supply to most areas of the districts over 24 hours after its distribution system collapsed with the first downpour on Wednesday evening.

They said a water shortage also prevailed in their localities due to absence of electricity which stopped pumping at water supply installations.

A man identified as Wali Mohammed Shar died when lightning struck the motorcycle he was riding near Paneri village of Khipro town in Sanghar district. In another such incident, a woman, Shrimati Kirri, 45, mother of six, was killed when lightning struck her home in Deh 149 of Digri taluka in Mirpurkhas district on Thursday.

Life in most areas of Mirpurkhas, Badin and Sanghar districts was paralysed by the flooding as vehicles remained off the road and all business, commercial and other routine activities were suspended for a second consecutive day.

The root cause of hardships appeared to be power outage which not only affected routine life but also left pumping machines at sewerage installations non-functional.

Almost all roads and streets in cities like Mirpurkhas and Badin as well as small towns in the two districts remained submerged on Thursday, with the low-lying areas inundated with knee-deep water.

According to residents of the affected areas, electricity across the three districts went off with the first downpour on Wednesday and could not be restored in most areas till late Thursday evening. They said rainwater accumulated in their lanes got mixed with sewage causing a foul smell in the atmosphere. Municipal workers did emerge on some thoroughfares to flush out rainwater but the non-functional sewerage system frustrated all their efforts, they said.

The towns which received rains on Thursday included Mirpurkhas city, Mirwah Gorchani, Digri, Kot Ghulam Mohammed, Tando Jan Mohammed, Jhuddo, Naokot, Jhilori, Sindhri, Hingorno, Phuldiyoon and Khaan in Mirpurkhas district; Badin, Tando Bago, Matli, Talhar, Pangrio, Khoski, Nindo Shahar and Kadhan in Badin district; and Sanghar city, Shahpur Chakar, Khipro, Tando Adam and Shahdadpur in Sanghar district.

Several towns of Tharparkar district also received more rainfall on Thursday.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2015

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