SWABI: Heavy rain coupled with hailstones damaged maize and sugarcane crops on the night between Sunday and Monday.

Affected farmers told Dawn on Monday that this was the third time during the current month that hailstones had hit their areas. However, they said that duration of the latest hailstorm was long and its intensity severe. “The hailstones usually last for 10 to 15 minutes but this one continued unabated for 30 minutes,” said Rohal Amin of Topi city. The storm was so severe that people got awakened from their sleep and started praying for God’s mercy. Topi tehsil and mountainous region of Gadoon Amazai bore the brunt of the hailstorm as compared to other regions. Torrential rain also caused suspension of power supply for several hours. “I couldn’t refill my car due to suspension of electricity at the CNG stations,” said Obaid-ur-Rehman. When contacted, Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) officials said that staff had been engaged to restore power supply to the affected areas. However, consumers alleged that the rain and hailstones provided an opportunity to Pesco to keep the people deprived of the power supply for several hours. The stormy weather, however, turned the weather pleasant. — Correspondent

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2014