RAWALPINDI - Although the federal capital betrayed fresh looks of lush green with persistent rains on Wednesday yet the daily routine life across the city has been badly paralysed due to the continues rain which starts from Wednesday morning. The continuous spell of rain brought some relief from the hot weather but it also caused immense difficulties for the residents of different areas, including Sadiqabad, Shamsabad, Dhok Kala Khan, Kurree Road, Muslim Town, Raja Bazaar, Banni, Pindora, Bakra Mandi, Westraige, Satellite Town, Commercial Market. Rain is a gift from God but in our city it turned into a curse due to poor sewage system. Even a little downpour is enough to disrupt routine life and fill the city roads and streets with water, said Aamir Jilani, resident of Dhoke Hassu. By and large, the citizens, including students, employees were forced to remain indoors due to continuous rain and attendance at the educational institutes and government and private offices remained much low. Business activities also remained suspended across the twin cities as rain kept shoppers away from the markets. Commuters faced inconvenience due to lack of public transport on roads, while taxi and rickshaw drivers were taking advantage of the situation by overcharging the commuters. Rain blocked the main Murree Road and most of the link roads for traffic and also disrupted the power supply in most of the city. A massive traffic jam on Murree Road was observed during 1:00pm to 3:00pm due to rain. Pakistan Metrological Department forecasted continuous rain for twin cities on Wednesday while partial rain and cloudy weather for Thursday. Rain also forced the inhabitants of kutchi abadies and low laying areas along Nullah Leh to pass through knee-deep water to reach their homes. Government authorities should visit the city today to see the performance of civic authorities concerned, as the low-laying areas were facing a flood like situation, said Amjad Qurashi inhabitant of Kurree Road. APP adds: The ongoing unusual rain spell, after lashing most parts of the country for three days, including areas of upper Punjab, NWFP and Northern Areas, is likely to stop from Thursday, Director General Meteorological Department Dr Qamar Zaman said. Talking to private TV channel he said the westerly weather system after causing heavy rains, snowfall in mountainous areas, would start receding gradually from Thursday and weather is likely to remain dry for next week in most parts of the country. He agreed to a question that the rain spell was quite unusual in the month of April, however he reminded that it was expected as predicted by him as wet April days ago. Terming the recent rain spell damaging for standing wheat crops, he added that the spell initially proved bad for crops due to strong winds coupled with duststorm, however after first day strong winds stopped thus saving the crops from further damage. However, rains and snowfall proved helpful for water reservoirs. Heavy snowfall in catchment areas of Mangla and Tarbela has increased reservoir level in the two vital dams.