BAHAWALPUR, March 23: Several parts of the city and its suburbs were hit by hailstones and downpour on Saturday.

It started raining on Saturday afternoon following heavy clouds which burst intermittently. There were also three short spells of hailstones.

Due to hailstones, the courtyards and lawns of the houses turned white, providing an opportunity to children to play and enjoy.

However, agriculture experts and farmers said the hailstones and the rain might damage the standing crop of wheat, reducing the grain size.

Due to the downpour, the streets and roads in low-lying areas and katchi abadis in the city were flooded and the sewerage system got chocked, causing inconvenience to the residents.

In the absence of TMA’s sanitary staff, because of a national holiday on Saturday, the residents of these areas had to clear the chocked drains themselves.

The hours long disruption in the electricity supply added to the woes of the rain-hit people. In many city parts, the electricity could not be restored till the filing of the report.

So far, no loss of life was reported in any weather-related incident. However, several people, including motorcyclists, sustained injuries in some rain-related accidents.