SHANGLA: Heavy rain lashed Shangla, Bajaur and Kohat districts on Tuesday, inundating roads and streets and damaging vegetable crops and fruit orchards.

A hailstorm damaged vegetable crops and orchards of red persimmon in Shangla district.

The growers said red persimmon orchards were damaged at a time when the fruit was ready to be harvested.

Mohammad Miraj of Kuz Kana area said the hailstorm extensively damaged his orchard of red persimmon. He said he was expecting a handsome profit this season.

He said he never saw such a hailstorm in his lifetime.

Miraj said the recent years had seen a change in weather patterns with unprecedented rains causing huge losses.

The hailstorm turned the weather chilly, forcing people to take out warm clothing.

Heavy rain also lashed Bajaur, causing inconvenience to residents as some roads were submerged with rainwater.

Residents said downpour with strong winds started at 3pm and continued till 6pm.

Talking to Dawn by phone, they said several roads remained under rainwater for couple of hours, disturbing the vehicular traffic.

They said rainwater flowed onto the roads due to lack of proper drainage system. They said rain also caused suspension of power supply to most parts of the district.

They said heavy rainfall turned the weather cold.

In Kohat, a transformer fell off poles in the main bazaar during heavy rain and hailstorm on Tuesday as rainwater accumulated on the streets and also entered shops due to blocked drains.

Pedestrians faced hardship while passing through the bazaars and streets.

The people held the Water and Sanitation Services Company responsible for the mess as they said the firm failed to remove dirt from the drains.

They requested deputy commissioner Abdul Akram to take notice of the miseries being caused to them, and punish those responsible because ponds of rainwater had become a common place that took days to be flushed out.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2024