Rain cheers & fear many

Rawalpindi : The much-awaited rain and chilly winds at last visited the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad bringing temperature further down. The nearby hilly areas of Murree and Nathia Gali received light snowfall on Monday.

On the other hand, sale of warm clothes has increased manifold in city after second spell of winter rain. All kinds of woollies and accessories including gloves, caps, mufflers, pullovers, sweater-shirts and jackets are seen hanging in front of shops and stalls of markets attracting customers. Vendors are seen everywhere with their push-carts selling used/second hand clothes. They are doing good business as they sell woollies at reasonable/affordable price. They are doing a roaring business. Those who can afford fresh variety can be seen bargaining with retailers in markets and bazaars to purchase warm clothes, besides woollies, quilts, bedcovers, blankets and rugs.

The Met Office predicts that more rain and thunderstorm (with snowfall in north-western hilly areas) is expected at scattered places in Islamabad, upper Punjab (Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sargodha divisions), upper KP (Malakand, Hazara, Mardan divisions), upper Fata (Mohmand, Khyber, Kurram, Orakzai Agencies), Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Kohat, Bannu and Peshawar divisions in coming days till Wednesday.

Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Director Dr. Muhammad Hanif said that rain is expected to continue till Wednesday in most parts of the country including Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The residents of twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad will face severe cold weather in coming days. Temperature in day and night time will due to cold gusts of wind coming from nearby hilly areas of Murree and Nathia Gali, he predicted.

According to District Health Officer (DHO), the rain would hopefully end dry cough, cold, chest and throat infections and other health problems caused by the dry spell. He has strictly warned people to wear warm clothes and caps to avoid severe cold weather.

The people especially farmers heaved a sigh of relief after seeing rain which will be a boon for their harvest. A visitor Muhammad Usman said that almost twenty to 50 per cent rise had been observed in prices of winter clothes compared to last year. The vendors and dealers are doing brisk business as nowadays the demand of their clothes has increased manifold.

"Our business is going very well though it is the start and it would gain momentum", said Naseer Khan, a stallholder at Saddar Bazaar. The daily wagers remained without work during rain while majority of roads were choked with traffic on Monday.

It is worth mentioning here that several families enjoyed rain and cold weather by eating crispy items like fish, roast chicken, 'samosey' and 'pikoray'. They also enjoyed chicken soup, green tea and coffee during rain. But do not forget there is no gas to keep you warm and let you cook the delicacies. Those who matter have perhaps decided to give a deaf ear to the wailings of the populace.