SIALKOT/TOBA TEK SINGH-The widespread torrential rain lashed Sialkot and Toba Tek Singh districts, exposing the poor performance of the local governments which remained unable to handle the situation.
The heavy rain began early in the morning and remained continued the whole day intermittently. All the city roads in Sialkot presented a view of the water canals.
There was rainwater everywhere in Sialkot which badly exposed the high claims of Sialkot Municipal Corporation regarding making efforts to spill out the water from the city.
The accumulated water paralysed the civic life and all the trade and business activities here. Dozens of the public transport vehicles including cars, auto rickshaws, mini trucks and motorcycles remained struck in the water on almost all the main inter-city roads in Sialkot city.
The areas remained under about three to four feet water and sewerage as the local municipalities’ sanitation staff remained miserably failed to spill out the water. The nasty situation also posed the flood threats.
The rail track between Sialkot and Pasrur and Sialkot-Sambrial-Wazirabad remained inundated due to this torrential rain. The patients, their attendants and the paramedics also suffered great ordeal as the water also inundated the lawns, dispensaries and the rooms in Shakargarh THQ Civil Hospital.
The affected areas were Model Town, Mag Town, Muslim Town, Pakka Garha, Nishat Park, Pooran Nagar, Pakpura, People’s Colony, Small Industrial estate Sialkot, Kashmir Road, Defence Road, Kutchery Road, Paris Road, Abbot Road, Jail Road, Railway Road, Mujahid Road, Shahabpura Road, Rangpura, Hajipura, Prem Nagar, Pooran Nagar, Commissioner Road, Bano Bazaar Lehaai Bazaar, Kashmiri Bazaar, Urdu Bazaar, Jandar Bazaar, Muslim Bazaar, congested Allama Iqbal Chowk, Khadim Ali Road, Khawaja Safdar Road, Sialkot Airport Road and Hajipura Road.
The people remained busy in wiping out water from their houses and even from their factories. Officials of the Sialkot Municipal Corporation visited the city areas during the heavy rain. They directed the staff to get the water drained out from all parts of the city on emergency grounds by using all the available resources.
The traffic remained jammed almost for the whole day on main Kashmir Road Sialkot city as a flyover was being constructed on this road.
All the decades-old choked sewerage lines were overflowed after rain in Sialkot, Daska, Sambrial and Pasrur cities. The officials of Sialkot MET office forecast more widespread rain in the Sialkot region and in all the catchment areas of neighbouring Occupied Jammu & Kashmir.