Weather pleasant, roads messy

Islamabad : The residents of Islamabad and Rawalpindi woke up to light rain on Saturday morning to their delight.

However, the rainfall, which continued for many hours intermittently to turn the weather pleasantly chilly, threw the traffic on many roads in a mess.

Tailbacks were seen in many areas, where the cops struggled to regulate the movement of vehicles due to the faulty traffic signals.

Things were the worst at the arteries, which are under construction or where work on bridges is under way.

The road users, especially motorcyclists and commuters, complained that Islamabad was the beautiful and it got even more beautiful when it rained but whenever it rained, roads became messy.

They said things were even worse in Rawalpindi mainly due to potholed roads, faulty drainage system and faulty traffic lights.

According to Adnan Sabir of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, six millimetres of rain was recorded in the capital city and eight millimetres in the adjoining Rawalpindi.

He forecast cloudy weather in the two cities for today (Sunday) but said it won’t rain.

The doctors welcomed the rainfall saying it will end health problems caused by the dry, cold spell like throat and chest infections, flu and fever.

With the rainfall and the ensuing overcast skies keeping the weather chilly all through the day, the people turned to parks and recreational spots in large numbers. High sales of ‘samosas’, ‘pakoras’ and ‘jaleebi’ were also reported.