Roads of Lahore city were flooded on Tuesday as heavy monsoon rain lashed the city in the morning hours, leaving hundreds of commuters stranded with their vehicles on the main roads.
Despite the tall claims of the government of being prepared to deal with the rain, the entire government machinery failed to clear the road after prolonged rain showers.
A massive traffic jam was observed on the Mall Road, Qartaba Chowk, Anarkali and adjacent roads during the rains. A large number of commuters were seen stranded as their cars and motorbikes broke down on the flooded roads.
Amir Ali, a motor mechanic at Lakshami Chowk, told Pakistan Today that he had catered to several motorcyclists whose vehicles had broken down in rain. According to Ali, almost every bike that came to his shop had a rain-related problem.
“The drainage problem of Lakshmi Chowk is very old. The residents will only be rid of this menace when the government takes it seriously,” Ali observed.
Asim Javaid, whose car broke down in rainwater near Anarkali, criticised the Punjab government for allocating funds for mass transit systems instead of improving the poor drainage system of the city.
“I have been living in this city for years and have never seen any improvement in the drainage system,” he complained.
Mukhtar Ahmad, a policeman seeking a lift from passing commuters, had to face much problem due to the inundated roads.
“People belonging to our police department usually take lifts to reach their destinations but when it rains, no one bothers to give us a ride,” Ahmad lamented.
Zulfiqar Kazmi, a zonal officer of Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) for the areas of Bhaati Chowk, Lakshmi Chowk and Accountant General (AG) Office told Pakistan Today that his team was working round the clock to provide relief to the people.
The LWMC works in liaison with Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) during monsoon period to work efficiently. Kazmi further said that automatic machinery is used only in Lakshmi Chowk and water is drained manually in the areas of Bhaati Cowk and AG Office.
Irfan Shah, a resident of Chauburji, said that the roads intersecting at Chauburji roundabout were presenting a picture of canal and almost every second vehicle had broken down during rain.
A sub-engineer at WASA, Zahid Hussain, said that the drainage begins after rainfall.
District Coordinating Officer (DCO) Captain (r) Muhammad Usman told Pakistan Today that 98 mm rain was recorded on Monday and this figure is considered abnormal in monsoon.
Brushing aside citizens’ criticism of the city’s drainage system, the DCO said that heavy rainfall floods roads even in the US and England therefore there was no reason to criticize the local administration for vehicles getting stuck in rain.
The DCO further claimed that the city district government has upgraded the drainage capacity for 550 cusecs and now the water is discharged in half the time as compared to the past.
