A majority of the roads and streets of the federal capital were inundated after the recent spell of rain and affected the movement of motorists, showing that roads constructed by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) lack proper drainage facilities. Puddles of accumulated water were seen on the Islamabad Expressway, Kashmir Highway, Faiza Abad, Khiayban-e-Iqbal, I-8 service road, Aabpara, Karachi Company, Sitara Market, Peshawar Morr, Jinnah Avenue, and in different parts of sectors F-6 and F-7 as well as Katchi Abadis. Due to these puddles, motorists and pedestrians faced many problems but CDA has failed to take notice of the issue. Heavy rainfalls worsened the already overloaded road infrastructure of the city as rainwater flooded the roads and engulfed manholes, rendering the latter invisible to unsuspecting pedestrians and motorists who became prone to falling into these uncovered traps. As rainfall continued, most of the traffic signals and intersections of the city, including those at I-8, Aabpara, Air port Chowk, and the 9th avenue were swamped in rainwater, resulting numerous traffic problems. Further, the rainwater caused a heavy layer of soil to be deposited on different roads as result of which mobility was compromised. Irshad Ali, a motorist, said that the incessant rainfall accompanied by water puddles made motorists’ lives miserable as they were unable to see ruts, trenches and manholes on the roads, which led to vehicles being damaged. He added that the relevant authority focused only on constructing new roads and did not bother to equip existing roads with proper drainage facilities. “All of these problems and inconveniences are repeated every year but once the rainy season passes, no one bothers to take remedial measures,” said Adnan Zeb, a motorist who had gotten stuck at the I-8 intersection. He said that the CDA high-ups needed to make proper arrangements in this regard.A shopkeeper at Karachi Company, Fayaz Khan said that people were already hesitant to go out due to the bad weather, and those who went out of necessity faced severe problems in mobility due to the accumulated water in low lying areas. He was of the view that all of this had a negative effect on shopkeepers’ businesses. Disaster Management Director Mansoor Ahmad said that the directorate had made different teams, each consisting of over 150 people, for draining puddles created by rainwater. He said, “Our rescue teams are well equipped and they drain out most of the puddles within a very short time.” Ahmad added that the Disaster Management Directorate was working in close coordination with other directorates in this regard.
