HYDERABAD: Another 90-minute heavy spell of monsoon rain pounded Hyderabad Saturday night, causing an accumulation of rainwater on the main roads. Civic agencies were dewatering the area, especially low lying localities.

The Met’s City office recorded 29.2mm of rain between 9:30pm on Saturday to 8:00am on Sunday. Heavy rainfall was also reported in Mirpurkhas, Jamshoro, Shaheed Benazirabad, Dadu, Sanghar and some other districts.

A widespread electricity breakdown, as usual, was also reported in these areas.

Hesco had closed 48 feeders in Hyderabad for safety reasons. The power supply was gradually restored by midnight.

Hyderabad Mayor Kashif Shoro, along with Aftab Khanzada, visited the pumping station of Hyderabad Water & Sewerage Corporation (HW&SE).

Two persons, Pervez Masih and Naseem Maih, received injuries when the rooftop of a house collapsed near Christian Colony, Unit No.6, Latifabad. The areas of Liaquat Colony, Cloth Market, Citizens Colony, Gulistan-i-Sajjad, Makrani Para, Sehrish Nagar, Sheedi Goth, Nusrat Colony and Latifabad’s Unit Nos. 2, 7,11 and 12 were affected by accumulation of rainwater.

According to a Hesco spokesman, 214 feeders were affected by heavy rainfall in Jamshoro, Sehwan, Manjhand, Sann, Thatta, Badin, Tando Mohammad Khan, Matiari, Hala, Sanghar and Nawabshah.

Out of the 624 11kv feeders of the Hesco region, 149 had tripped due to the rains. Of them, 40 pertained to Hyderabad Circle, 30 to Laar circle, 19 to Mirpurkhas Circle and 60 feeders to Nawabshah Circle, the spokesman said.

A sizeable breach in the dyke of main Rohri Canal led to the inundation of crops in Tando Adam and several villages on Sunday. The breach occurred at RD-287 which was until two days back having a discharge of 13,330 cusecs.

Rohri Canal is one of the largest perennial left-bank canals of Sukkur Barrage.

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Reports from the breach-affected area indicated that water had flooded Alam Dero and entered four other villages, including Mithan Dero, Karim Dino Channa, Allahdino Channa and Jurio Dero by Sunday evening.

The district administration was said to be making arrangements for accommodating displaced villagers. Relief work was also started.

According to Aslam Mari, information secretary of Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB), soil erosion was reported at the same location two days back and villagers had brought it to the notice of irrigation officials that this area would become vulnerable during rains.

He said the breach had widened to 100ft till Sunday evening.

However, Sukkur Barrage Chief Engineer Mansoor Memon, who visited the site, said the breach was in fact 50ft-wide breach.

He told Dawn over the phone that the breach would hopefully plugged to a great extent by Monday morning.

In Dadu district, more than 200 big and small villages of the Kachho belt were cut off from the Johi and other towns as deluges of rainwater coming from the Khirthar mountainous region on Saturday night and Sunday.

Caravans of villagers moving to safe places along with their animals were seen struggling with the deluges. Superintendent Engineer Iqbal Palijo of the irrigation department told the media that because canals, rivers and drains, including Nai Gaj, Nai Angai and Nai Sori had started overtopping amid the heavy rainfall. He said that the deluges were moving in the direction of Manchhar Lake. He said that up to four feet high water was flowing in the Nai Gaaj reservoir which was ‘normal’.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2024