RAWALPINDI: Heavy rain lashed Rawalpindi and Islamabad, inundating low-lying areas in the garrison city on Monday. Three people, including a girl, lost their lives in rain-related incidents across Rawalpindi.

The army and local administration were put on alert to deal with any emergency.

The rain started early in the morning and continued till the evening with heavy to moderate intensity.

The Leh Nullah rose to 10 feet at Gawalmandi bridge and 12 feet at Kattarian bridge. However, the dangerous level starts at 22 feet and spillover at 30 feet.

After the pre-alert situation, the Pakistan Army, local administration, Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), Rescue 1122, Civil Defence and health departments arrived at Leh Nullah to monitor the situation as per the standard operating procedure defined by the Punjab government.

Army, district admin on alert to deal with any emergency; water level in Leh Nullah swells to 12 feet at Kattarian bridge

The Meteorological Department recorded 57 millimetres of rain at Saidpur, 54mm at Golra, 39mm at Zero Point, 38mm at Bokra, 10mm at the airport in Islamabad, 68mm at Shamsabad, 81mm at Chaklala and 56mm at Kutchery in Rawalpindi. It forecast more rain till the next 48 hours.

It said monsoon currents were penetrating from the Bay of Bengal into upper/eastern parts of the country and were likely to penetrate into central and southern parts of the country.

“Rain-windstorm/thundershower is expected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir, Islamabad, upper/central Punjab, southeastern Sindh and Balochistan. Heavy falls may also occur in Kashmir, northeast Punjab, Potohar region, northeast/south Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the next 48 hours,” it said.

The heavy falls may generate flash flooding in nullahs/streams of Kashmir, northeast Punjab, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Koh Sulaiman and adjoining hilly areas of northeast Balochistan on July 29 and 30. Urban flooding may also occur in low-lying areas of northeast/south Punjab, Peshawar and Karachi.

The rain however exposed the poor preparedness of the cantonment administration and Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) to tackle with the situation.

“RMC reconstructed roads in different parts of the city but failed to reconstruct the roadside drains properly which were choked after the heavy rains, especially on Jamia Masjid Road, Hamilton Road, Ratta Amral, Kashmir Bazaar,” said Mohammad Anwar, a shopkeeper at Hamilton Road.

The situation in Saddar was worse as RCB started digging roads for laying underground electricity cables in the last five months but failed to complete it, creating a slushy mess on Bank Road, Adamjee Road, Haider Road etc.

“The closure of drains at Tench Bhatta led to the inundation of the area,” said an official of the local administration.

He said the slow pace of work on cleaning nullahs created problems for residents. He said Rawalpindi Cantonment Board was responsible for allowing people to construct houses on the banks of nullahs. Electricity supply remained suspended in low-lying areas. However, the supply was restored in areas along Leh Nullah in the afternoon.

Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema said that despite 80mm of rain, the situation was normal and under control.

He said Wasa had been asked to drain out the water from roads and streets.

Wasa Managing Director Saleem Ashraf said heavy machinery was used to drain out water from Murree Road, Jamia Masjid Road, Sadiqabad, Katarian and Zafarul Haq Road.

He said all officials were called to deal with any emergency and drain out water accumulated on roads adjacent to Leh Nullah.

Three killed in rain-related incidents

Three people were killed in separate rain-related incidents across Rawalpindi.

A boy drowned in a nullah while another was rescued in Shabbir Lane Peshawar Road.

Aftab Javaid, 10, and Abdullah Gulzar, 11, were taking a bath in a nullah when they drowned. Aftab lost his life while Abdullah was rescued by the emergency staff and shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in a critical condition.

A man identified as Babar Mir, 40, was electrocuted while walking towards Choor Bazaar in the rain.

In Kallar Syedan, a 12-year-old girl was swept away while playing in a nullah with her friends. Her body was recovered by Rescue 1122 staff.

Meanwhile, two persons, including an army man, were gunned down in separate incidents in Soan and Trait area of Murree on Monday.

According to Rescue 1122, the body of an elderly man who was shot in the head was found along the roadside in Trait area. The body was shifted to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Murree.

Awais Ahmad, an army man and a resident of KP, was shot dead by unidentified persons near Soan on Monday.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2024