MANSEHRA: Heavy rain flooded bazaars in the Mahandri area here on Thursday, suspending business activities after many hours.

However, no damage to public life or property was reported.

The administration stopped vehicles from using the newly-installed steel bridge over the swollen Manor stream on the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road for traveler safety.

However, the bridge was reopened to traffic after water levels subsided.

A trader told Dawn that his community and other residents continued to live in fear, recalling the July 31 flash floods in Manor stream that swept away houses, shops and the main bridge blocking traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan for over two weeks.

He said the Manor stream was swollen to a dangerous level due to heavy rain, suspending life, especially business activities in the main bazaar.

The trader, however, said the water later receded, leading to the resumption of trade.

After Thursday’s downpour, the irrigation department suspended work to drain the artificial lake created by the July 31 floods in the area.

The rain started falling in the early hours of the day and continued afterwards at irregular intervals. The rainfall was reported in Mansehra, Torghar, Kolai-Palas, Upper and Lower Kohistan districts.

Traffic remained suspended for over an hour on the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road near Balakot after boulders and mud rolled down a mountain due to heavy rain.

DEPLOYMENT OF CONSTABLES ORDERED: The district administration has directed the police department to deploy women constables at Darul Aman here for the security of female inmates.

“The women, whose cases are in the courts of law, are vulnerable, so they should be provided with security,” assistant commissioner of Baffa-Pakhal Nayab Abbasi told an open kutcheri at Darul Aman here on Thursday.

The event, the first of its kind at Darul Aman, was attended by the superintendent of the facility and officials of different departments.

Around 30 women, who live in the shelter home with their minor children, highlighted their court and family issues.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2024