KASUR, Feb 19: Downpour and gales in the last 24 hours left four people dead and several others injured in various parts of the Punjab.
In Kasur, a woman and her minor daughter were killed while her husband and four other daughters grievously injured when their house’s roof caved in at Cheena Autar village on Wednesday.
Reports said Abdul Ghafoor and members of his family were asleep at their house when the roof collapsed over them. Ghafoor’s wife Rashida and daughter Nasim, 5, died instantly while he and his four daughters were injured. They were admitted to a hospital where doctors referred one of the girls to the Lahore Hospital in critical condition.
Meanwhile, a shopkeeper, Abdul Ghafoor, was electrocuted at Kot Murad Khan when he touched his shop’s shutter.
At least another dozen people were injured when blizzards hit their houses, reducing some of those to rubble. Three girls Alia, Nadia and Nausheen were among the injured. Some cattle were also electrocuted after rain.
Frequent power breakdowns gave a tough time to the people in almost all parts of the district.
FAISALABAD: The entire district and its adjoining towns on Wednesday received downpour on the third consecutive day, leaving an industrial worker dead and dozens other injured.
Salar Ahmad, a powerloom factory worker, was electrocuted when his bicycle touched a livewire on the Rajawala Road.
Dozens other received multiple wounds during rains. Fahad Ahmad and Naveed Shahzad were injured when their two-wheeler slipped on a road.
Ayesha Sana, daughter of Shaukat Ali, sustained an electric shock when she touched a water-supply pipe at her house.
A watchman on the Jhang Road, Ghulam Husain, received head and chest injuries when his house’s roof caved in.
Meanwhile, Shahbaz Husain and his son Tabassum, 3, were injured when they fell from first floor of their house at Samanabad.
The downpour lashed residential and commercial areas, inundating slums in rural areas.
After a short break, rain started at 5am on Wednesday and continued till 12 noon, forcing employees of government departments and private institutions stay home. Most of the shopkeepers also stayed homes.
A Tehsil Municipal Administration spokesman told this correspondent that six emergency centres had been set up in the district to redress citizens’ complaints.
GUJRAT: Nine members of a family were injured when their house collapsed in rain at Javed Shaheed locality near Mahna Chowk on Wednesday.
Owing to continuous rain, a barrack of the Dinga police station also collapsed.
The injured members of family include Nawaz, Ashfaq, Nasir, Ejaz, Zulfiqar, Gul Nawaz, Kala and Rasheeda Begum. They were admitted to a nearby hospital.
SHEIKHUPURA: As many as 13 people, including three women, were injured in Tuesday evening’s tempest in various villages in Sheikhupura district.
Fighting for life, the injured were shifted from the Farooqabad Hospital to the District Headquarters Hospital on Wednesday.
The injured include Shahzad Faizan, Ali Muhammad, Muhammad Nawaz, Sultan, Abdul Hamid and Ghulam Muhammad.
A man and a woman were taken to the Mayo Hospital, Lahore.
SIALKOT: Four buffaloes were killed on Tuesday night when lightning pierced through their shed in Kot Jhandu village in the Daska tehsil.
Rain wreaked havoc on Sialkot and Narowal on Wednesday, prolonging troubles of the people.
Threatening clouds and strong wind were hovering all around till last reports came in. The meteorological office forecast more rain in the next 24 hours.
TOBA TEK SINGH: Three-day downpour which took place with short intervals kept wheat and sugar cane crops fluttering, giving a hope to the worried farmers.
However, the accompanying thunderstorm and gales on Tuesday uprooted electricity poles, trees, billboards, hoardings and antennae.
GUJRANWALA: Around three dozen mud houses were collapsed owing to torrential rain, which paralyzed life in various parts of the district.
The worst hit areas include Satellite Town, Model Town, Wahdat Colony, Hafizabad Road, Garjakh, Khiali Shahpur, Bakhtwala and Farid Town and many other.
To guard against flood, the district government has set up control rooms and relief centres and finalized a plan at a meeting.
The District Coordination Officer, Iftikhar Ahmad, presided over the meeting on Wednesday.
Wazirabad Deputy District Officer (revenue) Ms Sara Aslam was named in-charge of the flood control room.
The emergency control room was set up at Ms Sara’s office and it’s contact number is (0437-602898) while the main control room has been established in Gujranwala and its contact numbers are (0431-9200034 and 9200039).