RAWALPINDI, July 13: The first downpour of the monsoon brought havoc to thousands of residents of Rawalpindi, killing at least 12 people.

Large parts of the city were inundated. All day Thursday people were seen draining out water from their houses and shops which were inundated notwithstanding the tall claims made by the city administrators in the recent past that they had taken measures to meet “any eventuality” during the monsoon season.

But when the downpour came there was no one to listen to the citizens’ cries for help as choked drains in their localities made the rain water gush into their houses and rise by the hour.

“I’m a widow with no male member in the family. Neighbours came to rescue my eight-year-old daughter but in the effort she broke her arm,” Zarina Bibi, a resident of Muslim Colony, told Dawn as she surveyed the damage caused in her house.

At many places even such public spirited help was made impossible by snapped electricity wires which sunk the locality in darkness and electrified the swirling waters.

It had started raining at midnight and in the next three hours 138 millimetres of rain fell in Rawalpindi. In neighbouring Islamabad 140 millimetres of rain was recorded but the citizens of the better planned city escaped the miseries of Rawalpindi.

Commercial centres presented a chaotic scene as the rain water played havoc with goods inside the shops. Shopkeepers were seen cleaning the mess on Thursday which affected their business routine.

The worst-affected areas in Rawalpindi included Millat Colony, Chaklala (Faisal Colony), Harley Street, Gawalmandi, Arya Mohalla, Khayaban-i-Sir Syed, Sadiqabad, Pindora, Bohar Bazar and Raja Bazar where the rain water rose to about four feet inside the houses.

Carpets, furniture, electronic goods and other valuables were damaged by the gushing water and residents, especially children, went to upper floors to escape the rising waters.

“The deluge was brought not by the rains but by the choked drains which had not been cleaned by the municipality since long despite repeated requests from the residents,” said Dr Niazi of a private clinic in Millat Colony.

“We kept awake all night as our beds and carpets were soaked with water. We called Civil Defence to come to our help but no one came,” she complained.

While ordinary citizens took the task of draining out rain water in their own hands, government buildings like schools and colleges continued to wallow in the mess with no sanitary staff in sight.

Major roads including the Murree Road, Rawal Road, Saidpur Road, Imambargah Road, Tipu Road and Zafarul Haq Road were also flooded, causing vehicles breakdown and traffic jams.

City Nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas was not available for comments but a press release issued by his office said he, accompanied by DCO Hamid Ali Khan, EDO Municipal Services Iftikhar Shalwani and District Officer Solid Waste Management Dr Mazhar, visited the Committee Chowk underpass and “appreciated the authorities” for draining rain water out of it.

“Only recently he had promised the citizens of Rawalpindi at a press conference that all drains would be cleaned before the start of monsoon but the havoc brought by the rains proved its hollowness,” commented a resident of Millat Colony.

Since the charge of keeping the localities clean has been taken away from tehsil municipal administrations (TMAs) by law, the Rawalpindi City District Government (RCDG) is responsible for the job.

When contacted EDO Municipal Services Iftikhar Shalwani said that 15 choked drains in the city would be cleaned on emergency basis.

Asked why it was not done earlier, he said his office was busy in managing the initial formalities incurred on them from tehsil municipal administrations from July 1.

Mr Shalwani assured that in future the residents would have no complaint about choked drains as he had listed the task as top priority.

Water level in Leh Nullah, which carries the city’s flood waters out, rose to 20 feet after the rains, spilling over into the low-lying residential localities.