Heavy rain floods roads, causes power disruption in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: Heavy rain lashed the provincial capital for 24 continuous hours leading to flooding of roads, disruption of traffic, and power disruption on Monday.

The rains inundated low-lying areas in the provincial capital.Roads and streets were also inundated causing difficulties for citizens. The people were facing difficulty in moving as the roads and streets were filled with rainwater. Most parts of the provincial capital faced power suspension due to rains.

The rainwater inundated Grand Trunk Road, Kohat Road, Warsak Road, University Road, and other major roads due to poor drainage system.The University Road, which had not faced drainage problem before the fresh construction, always remained filled with water in the wake of rainfall after the completion of the project.

In several areas, vehicles were struck up in the rainwater where citizens were seen wading and helping the drivers.The blocked roads also created the worst traffic problems for motorists and commuters.

The Bus Rapid Transit feeder service on Kohat Road was suspended when the rainwater inundated the road. TransPeshawar spokesperson, Sadaf Kamil, however, said service on Kohat Road was resumed in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Tanzeem-e-Tajiran Khyber Pakhtunkhwa asked the provincial government to compensate the traders whose shops were inundated at the Hashtnagri underpass.Malik Mehr Elahi and other trader leaders said that the rainwater inundated the shops in the past and had caused huge losses to the traders. The traders said that the rainwater again affected the traders.

They said that they had requested the government and Asian Development Bank to provide compensation to the traders for their losses but no one had listened to the requests.The traders’ representatives said the Peshawar Development Authority and ADB had been requested to address the drain issue of the BRT but no steps had been taken for bringing any improvement.

They requested the government to direct the officials to provide compensation to the affected traders and take steps to address the problem.The traders criticized Peshawar Electric Supply Company and Water and Sanitation Services Company Peshawar for their poor performance. They said that the two-day rain exposed the performance of these companies.