QUETTA: The Quetta valley and several parts of northern Balochistan received heavy rains on Friday which continued throughout the day, ending a year-long dry spell in the province.

As predicted by the Met Office, Quetta and surrounding areas received light drizzle in the morning which turned into heavy showers in the afternoon that continued till late evening.

Though people were happy to receive rainfall in a long time, they faced difficulties because of frequent power breakdowns.

Heavy rainfall exposed the performance of the Quetta Metropolitan Corporation (QMC) as most roads of the provincial capital were flooded with rainwater due to blockage of drains and overflowing gutters. The sanitary staff of the QMC was absent and no efforts were witnessed to drain out the rainwater from the roads.

There were also reports that some mud walls collapsed on the outskirts of the city, however, no casualty was reported.

Growers expressed their happiness as the dry spell broke, saying rain would benefit the fruit orchards and wheat crop. “Thank God…it has been a year since we have received rain,” said Essa Khan Tareen, a farmer of Pishin district, hoping for a better fruit crop in the summer.

Pishin, Chaman, Qila Abdullah, Muslim Bagh, Qila Saifullah, Loralai, Zhob and many other areas of northern Balochistan received heavy showers. Rain was also reported from Mastung, Kalat, Nushki and some parts of eastern Balochistan.

The Met Office has forecast more rainfall in the next 48 hours in Quetta and several parts of northern and eastern Balochistan.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2018