RAWALPINDI: Rain lashed twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Saturday, inundating the low-lying areas and creating slushy mess in the garrison city.

The Met Office predicted dry weather in the upper parts of the country on Sunday.

People preferred to stay indoors on Saturday that is why bazaars gave a deserted look in the morning. The residents of the twin cities woke up in Sehri to light showers which continued till night with regular intervals, making the weather cold.

The Met Office recorded 24 millimeter rain in Chaklala, four mm at Shamsabad in Rawalpindi while six mm at Zero Point, seven mm at Bokra, three mm at Saidpur, 11mm at Islamabad Airport and 6mm at Golra.

According to a Met official, a westerly wave was affecting upper parts of the country and likely to persist till Saturday night.

He said mainly dry weather was expected in most parts of the country, including twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Light rain-thunderstorm is expected in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan during next 24 hours.

The highest maximum temperatures were: Mithi 34 degrees Celsius, Tando Jam, Chhor, Dadu, Hyderabad and Shaheed Benazirabad 33 degrees Celsius.

With the start of rain, many localities of the twin cities faced low gas pressure. Media Town, Murree Road, Arya Mohallah, Committee Chowk, Bhabara Bazaar, Chaklala, Chaudhry Bostan Khan Road and adjoining areas were worst affected.

“The rain brought slushy mess and low gas pressure and power outages in many areas. For many people, it was a blessing but for us it is not welcome,” said Ahmed Nawaz, a resident of Committee Chowk.

He said the pressure of gas was so low that one could not make tea on the stove. He said that he went to the bazaar to buy bread for Sehri.

Wasa Managing Director Mohammad Tanveer said water level in Leh Nullah remained low and normal. However, he said the rainwater inundated Committee Chowk underpass, Sadiqabad, Jamia Masjid Road, but the situation was under control and the Wasa teams cleared the area and drained out the water.

He said that teams had been formed and deputed at four complaint centres around the city for the next three months. He said water sucking machines and other equipment had also been provided to them.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2023