LAHORE - Traffic in the city was paralysed within few hours following the downpour yesterday, while most areas still water-logged due to the ill-preparation of district administration.
The worst hit areas include Mozang, Ferozepur Road, Shadman, Samanabad Town, Johar Town, Wahdat Colony, and Multan Road.
The inundation caused breakdown of vehicles right into the middle of leading roads. Worst traffic jams were seen at Canal Road at different points. People in the low lying areas, submerged with rainwater, made their way back home on their own.
“It took me nearly two hours to reach my home from my office located in Gulberg. Almost all of the area is rooted up for the sewerage pipelines and it is almost impossible to travel on the road leading from Samanabad Morr to Pakki Thatti,” said Ahmed Jamil, a resident of Samanabad Town.
Ferozepur Road, a leading road with high number of business centers, also faced the challenge of inundation where long lines of traffic were witnessed for hours.
Similarly, Queens Road and Waris Road were chocked, leaving the motorists in limbo.
Even as the Wasa sanitary workers were seen maintaining flow of water into drains, the efforts were to be too little too late. People, however, managed to get through the water-logged areas instead of waiting for the authorities to clear the routes.
Firdous Market, Gulberg, Misri Shah, Board of Revenue Office, and Lawrence Road were also filled with rain water and citizens faced great difficulty.
The road in front of Government Jinnah Degree College for Women Mozang was filled with water and there was no chance for commuters, bikers and vehicles to pass through the water.
Faisal Mehmood of Johar Town said that every year it becomes a precedent that the government only makes rhetoric statements for the prevention of the water making havoc like situation on roads but no coherent policy has been adopted.
The citizens have stressed that the government should complete the development work on time and drains must be timely clean by the authorities concerned.
On the other hand, a Wasa spokesman said that 33 mm rain partial rain was recorded in the city. “Wasa officials efficiently cleared the water from the Gulberg to Johar Town and towards northern Lahore areas. Within two hours whole of Lahore has been cleared,” he told The Nation.
“Our main priority was to prevent solid waste going into the main drainage and gutters holes,” he added.
In a statement yesterday, the Lahore Waste Management Company spokesman said that they removed 350 tons of solid waste from Chandrai Drain, which passes from Nishtar Town and Chungi AmrSidhu area, in order to facilitate local residents who were suffering from heaps of filth around their living place.
“Cleanup operation backed up by a team of 40 workers, heavy machinery including excavators, dumpers, loaders and pickups was carried out after requests from local residents as area falls in the jurisdiction of cantonment board and was neglected for long time.
“More than 12,000 workers of LWMC are serving a population of 10 million people performing their responsibilities,” the LWMC spokesman added.
Moreover, LWMC Deputy Manager (Operations) Zahid Mushtaq, along with zonal officer Abdul Manan, supervised and monitored the operational activities bringing a sigh of relief for local residents particularly shopkeepers and market traders trading around the drain.
Local residents were briefed about use of waste bins and avoid littering into drains verbally and via load speakers through mosques in the area.