LAHORE: Torrential rain started in the wee hours of Thursday and it flooded major roads and localities, especially low-lying areas, paralysing the routine life in the provincial capital.

The situation worsened after the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) and others concerned couldn’t drain water even by afternoon despite tall claims, leaving the people with no option but to criticise the officials on duty.

“It is really pathetic to see the lethargic behaviour of the duty officials as they failed to clear the road of water efficiently,” deplored, Asghar, a resident of Gulberg, while talking to Dawn.

“The government must take action for their negligence,” he said.

The heavy rain disrupted most of the businesses, especially the sale/purchase of vegetables and fruits at Badami Bagh market and mobility of public at large. The entire Badami Bagh vegetable market presented a scene of lake, forcing the commission agents and their workers to keep shifting their huge stocks to dry places.

“The rain disrupted our business badly, as we couldn’t even hold or participate in the routine auctions of fruits and vegetables properly early in the morning. Moreover, some of our vegetables perished in the accumulated rainwater,” said a Badami Bagh businessman, adding water couldn’t be drained out for many hours.

According to data made available to Dawn, the Lakshmi Chowk, one of the major sore points of Lahore in monsoon season, received 186mm, Upper Mall (141mm), Mughalpura (74mm), Chowk Nakhuda (120mm), Tajpura (173mm), Nishtar Town (123mm), Paniwala Talab (141mm), Gulshan-i-Ravi (155mm), Farakhabad (155mm), Iqbal Town (131mm), Samanabad (153mm) and Johar Town (103mm) in various spells on Thursday.

The downpour also disrupted the power distribution system of Lahore Electric Supply Company as 37 feeders of 11kV tripped leaving many areas without light for hours.

“As soon as the rain stopped, we restored power supply to the affected areas,” said a spokesman for the company. The rain especially affected motorcyclists as they were found everywhere trying to get shelter or restarting their vehicles on the way.

“I am searching for a mechanic to start my bike that developed some fault,” commented a motorcyclist while talking to this reporter in Gulberg.

On the other hand, Wasa managing director Syed Zahid Aziz claimed to have cleared the city thorughfares and low-lying areas of water within a short span of time. “All the officials worked hard to clear Lakshmi Chowk, Nabha Road and other areas within short time,” he added.

According to LDA Chief Engineer Habibul Haq Randhawa, the LDA teams also used dewatering pumps to drain water at various designated points. “The LDA dewatered the main boulevard (Johar Town), Multan Road and various parts of under-construction Firdous Market underpass.”

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2020