HYDERABAD: A woman died and two children suffered injuries when lightning struck them in a Thar village as heavy downpour continued to pound upper and lower parts of the province on Wednesday, further exacerbating conditions in already flooded towns and villages.

In Hyderabad, the devastating rain paralysed life in the city. Met office recorded 110mm rainfall till 11am. Conditions worsened as rainwater entered homes in several areas and localities in Qasimabad, Latifabad and City areas.

Hyderabad deputy commissioner Fuad Soomro said that Water and Sanitation Agency needed a break of at least 10 hours to clear the district of rainwater.

The district administration has set up 32 relief camps in the district where around 5,000 affectees were staying, said the DC.

The areas of unit-2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11 and 12 of Latifabad were the worst hit where people were seen using improvised boats and wade through chest high water to enter and leave their areas.

Almost areas in Qasimabad taluka, City and Hyderabad talukas were submerged in rainwater. Tracks at all railway stations also came under water.

300 villages marooned in Kachho

Uninterrupted rain destroyed crops, communication system and an unspecified number of mud-thatched houses in Dadu, Kotri, Jamshoro, Sann, Manjhand, Laky Shah, Sehwan, Bhan Syedabad, Thana Bula Khan, Khudabad, Khairpur Nathan Shah, Mehar and Johi in Dadu and Jamshoro districts.

Land link of 300 villages in 12 union councils of Kachho was disconnected with Johi town after level of Nai Gaaj drain rose to 20 feet.

Rain destroys cotton fields

It rained heavily in Khipro, Sanghar, Shahdadpur, Sanjhoro and Tando Adam, damaging standing crop of cotton on hundreds of acres.

Ghulam Mohammad, a grower, said that the ongoing rain had done widespread harm to cotton crop in Sanghar district which produced 1.30 million bales every year but the heavy downpour and stagnant rainwater had completely destroyed the cotton plants this year.

Tando Adam in Sanghar district has recorded 491mm rainfall in August so far as against 198.9 mm in July, totaling 690 rain within two months.

In Nawabshah, Daur, Sakrand, Kazi Ahmed, Bandhi, Sakrand, Daulatpur and Nawab Wali Mohammad, heavy rain battered the towns and villages and damaged crops of cotton, sugar cane, vegetables and mango orchards.

Heavy rain lashed Naushahro Feroze city and several towns and villages in the district. All main roads and streets in major towns were flooded and rainwater entered houses in flooded areas.

Growers said that crops of wheat, maize, barely, cotton, rice, sugar cane and banana, orchards of mango, guava and lemon had suffered major damage in the ongoing rain.

Rain affectees complain of neglect

In Moro, rain affectees complained to journalists that they had not been provided any relief item so far and they were sitting under open sky along different roads in the taluka as their mud-thatched houses had collapsed in the rain.

Lightning kills woman

Fatima Samoon, 45, was killed and two minor children sustained injuries when lightning struck them in a village near Chhachhro town during heavy rain that lashed several parts of Tharparkar on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2022