Rain brought most part of Peshawar to a standstill with severe water-logging in roads, markets and streets , PDMA warns of more downpour, urban flooding
JAVED KHAN
PESHAWAR
Waterlogging and traffic woes plagued the provincial capital when the long-awaited shower came on Thursday.
Main roads were flooded and traffic came to a standstill in several parts of the inner-city, cantt, University road, Hayatabad Charsadda road and Kohat road.
Heavy rain coupled with strong storm aggravated situation in many low lying residential areas including Faqirabad, Qisa-Khwani, Nothia Qadeem, Hazar-Khwani, Tajabad, Afghan colony, Warsak road, Firdos, Gulbhar and Hashtnaghri.
Flooding was seen on Bacha Khan Chowk, Bagh-e-Narran Chowk, Khoti-Chowk, while Arbab road, Khyber road outside the provincial assembly and main Saddar road were fully submerged by the rain water in Peshawar metropolitan.
Because of accumulation of rainwater on the road, BRT route service was suspended from Kohat bus stand towards the Dabgari Garden.
Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) deployed additional staff to pump out water and eased the situation to some extent on some roads but large numbers of areas and roads continued to face the same situation even after rain stopped at 3pm in most of part of Peshawar.
Authorities said that drain cleanup operations have been launched in different union councils of Peshawar.
Chairman WSSP Rizwan Bangash said all field staff reached different urban and rural localities of Peshawar as soon as rain started to remove waterlogging. Prompt response would be given to any complaint about the drain blockage, he added.
During the heavy downpour many people took to social media to address their grievances.
People posted a number of videos of water getting accumulated on their streets, houses and markets. Despite the heavy rains and flood-like situation, electricity was being supplied to most parts of the provincial capital.
In its latest advisory, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has warned of more downpour across the province.
It stated that the weather can cause urban flash and riverine flooding in the next 24 hours.
“In view of the above, you are kindly requested to take all precautionary measures to avoid any loss of life, damages to infrastructure/crops and animals. Furthermore, all concerned authorities may be requested to take precautionary and safety measures,” it warned.
Meanwhile, on the direction of the Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Commissioner Peshawar Riaz Mehsud has directed all civic bodies to take effective measures and clear all roads for traffic and pump out all accumulated water and remove blockage on several roads.
Riaz Mehsud also paid visits to different areas of Peshawar and directed all agencies for strong coordination with each other to ensure implementation of a plan devised for urban flooding.
He said effective steps have been taken to deal with flooding in different low-lying areas of the provincial capital and instructions have also been issued to the district administration, Rescue 1122, WSSP, PESCO and PDMA to keep all necessary machinery functional to deal with urban flooding.
It is pertinent to mention here that Peshawar is among those major cities where heavy rains can cause severe urban flooding.
