‘PARIS’ FLOODED & GRIDLOCKED!

TWO DIE AS RAIN BRINGS LAHORE TO A STANDSTILL TRAFFIC IN DIFFERENT AREAS REMAINS BLOCKED; PEOPLE REMAIN STUCK FOR OVER 5 HOURS

PUNJAB Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his government’s failure became evident on Thursday when monsoon rain caused flooding and massive traffic jams all over the city. All the major roads in the city including Mall Road, Jail Road, Ferozpur Road, Mozang, Canal Road, Mughalpura and Garhi Shahu were blocked with long queues of vehicles while knee-deep water was reported at Gaddafi Stadium, Lakshmi Chowk, Chauburji, Shadman, Taj Bagh, Mughalpura, Ichhra, Model Town, Township, Johar Town, Firdous Market and Samanabad

No police warden was seen in these areas. Torrential waterfalls were also seen raining down on cars passing from under the metro bus track.

Arslan Javaid, who was stranded at Mall Road, told Pakistan Today that his bike got punctured near Anarkali and it took one hour to find a mechanic. “The government is spending billions of rupees on development projects but the issue of city’s drainage is definitely not a priority,” he said.

Lahore District Coordination Officer Muhammad Usman, Water and Sanitation Agency Vice Chairman Chaudhry Shahbaz and WASA Managing Director Chaudhry Naseer visited Lakshmi Chowk to monitor the drainage of water. Lakshmi Chowk is one of the city’s low-lying areas and more than 3 feet water accumulated on the roads in the area after Thursday’s rain. According to WASA MD, Lahore received 408 mm rainfall in the month of August this monsoon. Two citizens died in rain-related incidents in cantonment area on Thursday. Anas and Omer lost their lives when a mighty tree fell upon them near Girja Chowk. Moreover, several areas of the city were in complete darkness as more than 50 electricity feeders tripped due to rain.

Rain water also entered different Furthermore, the rain water entered in the houses in some areas of the city including Allama Iqbal town, Mozang, Anarkali and Garhi Shahu.

According to Pakistan Meteorological Department, rain is expected at scattered places in upper parts of Punjab including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sargodha and Faisalabad divisions during next 24 hours.