PESHAWAR: While rain on Sunday turned the weather pleasant in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it also as roads turned into pools and exposed the inefficiency of the civic authorities.
The rain started in the afternoon and lasted about three hours. It brought relief to the fasting population of the population in Ramazan. Though most of the people enjoyed the shower, the rain created problems in several areas exposing the poor performance of the civic agencies. Most of the roads and streets were inundated by the rainwater, making them impassable for the pedestrians and motorists. The main Saddar, Sunehri Masjid, Nauthia and several other roads in the cantonment area were presenting the look of pools. The defunct railway crossings at Gulberg and Nauthia localities were inundated due to their low lying locations.
Rainwater was seen flowing down from the Bus Rapid Transit route at several points, creating problems for the commuters, motorists and motorcyclists using the roads along the BRT route. Motorists faced problems on Mufti Mahmood Flyover where water was accumulated due to the poor draining system. Piles of garbage left undisposed by the Cantonment Board Peshawar sanitation staff at two points worsened the situation. Several areas in the provincial capital and various districts were plunged into darkness due to the electricity breakdown. The rainwater accumulated on the roads beneath the Surray Pull inconvenienced the motorists and motorcyclists. The road under the Peshawar Central Prison overhead bridge was another troubling point. The roundabout at the Bacha Khan Chowk was under rainwater, disrupting the traffic flow at the point that is highly congested because of the traffic coming to and from Dilazak, Charsadda, and Pajjagi roads and the routes leading to the GT Road. A number of cars and other vehicles broke down as the drivers tried to get their way through the inundated roads. The troubled motorists were seen wading through the roads and pushing the out-of-order vehicles. Almost all chowks in old parts of the city were under rainwater. The problem was more pronounced at the Gunj, Lahori Gate Chowk, Nishtarabad and Gulbhar chowks. The problem becomes recurrent during rain but the civic bodies, Cantonment Board and Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar are yet to find a permanent solution to it. Meanwhile, the Provincial Met Office predicted thunderstorm and rain associated with gusty winds at isolated places in Abbottabad, Haripur, Mansehra, Kohistan, Battagram, Torghar, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Swat, Chitral, Shangla, Buner, Malakand, Bajaur, Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Mardan, Swabi, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kohat, Hangu, Karak, Kurram, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, North Waziristan, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank and South Waziristan districts for next 24 hours.
Similarly, the Met Office also forecast partly cloudy weather for different areas in KP. However, thunderstorm-rain associated with gusty winds is expected at isolated places in Abbottabad, Haripur, Mansehra, Kohistan, Battagram, Torghar, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Swat, Chitral, Shangla, Buner, Malakand, Bajaur, Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Mardan, Swabi, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kohat, Hangu, Karak and Kurram districts for next 48 hours.