Heavy rain inundates city roads

LAHORE:Heavy rain hit the provincial metropolis here on Thursday while Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) predicted similar weather conditions for the next 24 hours.

The rain started in the morning and continued till night in different spans. Traffic jams were reported at Ravi Road near Ravi Bridge, Shahdara, Taj Bagh, Johar Town, Model Town Link Road and some parts of Ferozepur Road due to stagnant rainwater. However, the rainwater was cleared from all the sore points within some hours. Secretary Housing Main Shakeel, Wasa MD Ghafran Ahmed and other officials visited different areas to check the post rain operation of Wasa. Wasa MD told the media that earlier Lakshmi Chowk used to submerge after a normal rainfall but on Thursday there was no stagnant rainwater there even after 80mm rain. Secretary Housing Main Shakeel also appreciated MD and his team for working day and night. Wasa MD directed the field staff to remain vigilant and quickly respond to any complaint.

Meanwhile, PMD officials predicted more rains in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Narowal, Mianwali, Peshawar, Swabi and Mardan. Thursday’s maximum temperature was recorded at Sibbi where mercury reached 44°C while in Lahore, it was 32.2°C and minimum was 24.6°C.