FAISALABAD, March 1: About two dozen people sustained injuries on Saturday in the rain-related incidents in and around the city.

Sharif, Naveed, Latif, Akhtar and two others suffered serious head and chest injuries when the roof of a tea stall caved-in in Yousaf Chowk on the Faisalabad-Sargodha Road. They were rushed to Allied Hospital where the condition of Sharif was stated to be critical.

Asghar and Sahib Ali received head injuries when their motorcycle skidded off the road near Railway Station. The injured were shifted to the local DHQ Hospital.

Villager Muhammad Rafique and his minor son Jawed got injuries when the wall of their house collapsed on them at Chak 492-GB of Mamukanjan police station.

Private and government hospitals in the city also received around a dozen people who sustained injuries in minor traffic accidents.

Hours-long rain spell disrupted the normal life in the city and a thin attendance was witnessed in government and private offices. The rain started on early hours of Saturday and continued till noon without break.

The main commercial centres of eight bazaars, Circular Road, Kotwali Road, Railway Road, Satiana Road, D-Grounds Peoples Colony, Samanabad and other business establishments presented a deserted look as most of the shops remained shut till 2pm.

The rain also played havoc with the low-lying areas like Warispura, Barkatpura, Sohailabad, Razaabad, Kamalabad, Ashrafabad, Rasheedabad, Chibban, Haiderabad, Rajawala and Mansoorabad.

The rain water also flooded all the main roads including, Circular Road, Kotwali Road, Narwala Road, Jhang Road, Gulistan Colony Road and Sheikhupura Road.

The local Met office predicted more rain during the next 24 hours in Faisalabad and its adjoining districts.

Meanwhile, Vice-Chancellor of the Faisalabad University of Agriculture, Dr Riaz Hussain Qureshi, said the danger of drought looming over the country had been averted due to intermittent rains for the last fortnight.

He said the rain would not only improve the water level but it would also relieve the pressure on heavy pumping of underground water which was being used as an alternative source to the irrigation water.

The rain, he said, had also reduced the cost of production of crops which was to be incurred on electricity and diesel for running tube-wells.

Timely rain had also averted a major threat to crop production especially wheat, planted on over 15 million acres, which would help improve income of growers, he added.