PARACHINAR: Lightning killed two soldiers and wounded another one in Kurram Agency as hailstorm caused damage to crops and fruit orchards in the area.

Officials said that lightning hit a post in Tora Worray area in Kurram Agency on Sunday that killed one soldier and caused injuries to another one. The deceased was identified as Pahshal. The wounded soldier, Maqbool, was referred to a hospital in the area.

Lightning also killed a soldier at Shahi checkpost in Para Chamkani on Saturday night. An official said that sepoy Amjad Ali Khattak died instantly. Local officials confirmed that lighting claimed four lives and caused injuries to three others during the last four days.

Meanwhile, hailstorm and torrential rains lashed parts of Kurram valley and also caused damage to crops. Heavy hailstorm and rain on White Mountains and other areas triggered flash floods in the Kurram River and water courses.

Flash floods in Kirman Toi swallowed agriculture lands along its banks. The continuous rain also damaged telecommunication and power supply systems in the area.

In Peshawar, heavy rain brought a pleasant change in the weather but it inundated most of the roads and streets, causing severe hardships to the people due to the clogged drains.

Maximum of the outlets got choked owing to the ongoing construction work on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

The rain started in the afternoon and continued for few hours. Thick clouds continued to hover over Peshawar for many hours. The rainwater and sewage flooded all the low lying areas, causing hardships to people in residential colonies as well as in commercial markets.

In the areas located close to the BRT route, the motorists and motorcyclists faced problems due to the deep puddles and ponds. The motorists were seen dragging out their cars and motorbikes from the ditches created by the heavy machinery of BRT.

The heavy rain compelled the women and motorcyclists to take shelter in shopping plazas but on the other hand people took a sigh of relief from the heavy dust usually witnessed on Saddar Road. Some parts of the provincial metropolis also received hailstorm.

An official in the metrological department said that the rain would continue with interval till Tuesday. Peshawar received 7 millimetres rain, Parachinar 15, Balakot 9, Chirat 1, Timergara 9, Kakol 2, Kalam 6, Dir 4 and Dera Ismail Khan received light shower.

In Swabi, the rainfall damaged the harvested wheat crop. The rain started at 3:30pm and continued unabated till filing of this report.

The farmers said that rainfall devalued their crop as affected its quality. They said that it would inflict heavy losses on them.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2018