FAISALABAD:A spell of early-morning rain brought a welcome respite from the lingering heat in Faisalabad on Thursday, transforming the weather into pleasant coolness, but also inundating low-lying areas and causing inconvenience to residents and pedestrians.
According to WASA spokesman, the city received varying amounts of rainfall as Gulfishan Colony recorded the highest precipitation at 26 millimeters (mm) followed by Jail Road with 25mm. Ghulam Muhammad Abad and Dogar Basti received 24 mm each while Madina Town recorded 22mm and Allama Iqbal Colony 21 mm rain.
The dark clouds began gathering over the city on Wednesday evening but the rain started at around 4 a.m. on Thursday and continued until 5:10 a.m., turning several low-lying areas into pools of standing water and making movement difficult for residents and pedestrians.
Anticipating rainfall, WASA Managing Director Engineer Saqib Raza had directed the field staff to remain alert and present at designated points to ensure prompt drainage and minimize inconvenience to the public.
As soon as the rain began, the agency activated its special drainage arrangements, putting all disposal stations into operation at full capacity.
Dewatering sets and other machinery were also made operational at identified water-accumulation points to accelerate the removal of rainwater.
MD WASA directed operational teams to ensure prompt clearance of water from major roads, central intersections and other key locations, stressing that the drainage operation should continue without interruption until the affected areas were completely cleared.
He said that field staff would remain deployed until all major roads and important intersections were cleared of rainwater, adding that the agency had taken special measures to deal with the situation promptly in view of the rainfall forecast.
The timely mobilization of WASA teams was aimed at restoring normal traffic movement, facilitating pedestrians and preventing prolonged accumulation of rainwater in low-lying localities, WASA spokesman added.