LAHORE: Downpour in different areas inundated roads and streets in the provincial capital of Lahore where commuters were facing immense difficulties to carry on with their routines on Thursday.
The scattered rain pounded The Mall, Jail Road, Ferozpur Road, Shimla Pahari, Garhi Shahu, Johar Town, Walton, Defence among other areas.
The new spell of rain entered Lahore along with other cities on Wednesday. On Thursday afternoon, rain torrents submerged most of the low-lying and posh areas of the city disrupting the routine life of the dwellers.
This spell of heavy rain also exposed the city’s poor drainage system which left almost all the areas underwater. However, the Water and Sanitation Authority (WASA) claimed that it had started its sanitation operation with start of rain and completed it by 6 PM.
The rain disrupted the traffic in Lahore which came to a standstill, causing problems for motorists as well for the pedestrians. The rain also exposed the inefficiency of traffic police which were found absent to keep the traffic flowing.
Along with rain submerging the road, motorcyclists, taking shelter under an overhead bridge, on the Jail Road were a major cause of clogged traffic flow towards The Mall.
On the other hand, major parks and picnic spots attracted a large number of people. Huge rush was witnessed at Bagh-e-Jinnah, Gulshan Park, Jillani Park, Jallo Park, Lahore Zoo and other picnic spots of the city.
The Meteorological Department has stated that the spell would continue for the coming three days.
The department stated that the intermittent rain was expected at isolated places in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Kashmir and in areas of FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan.
Heavy downpours may trigger flash flooding and landslides, the meteorological department had warned.