Heavy overnight rainfall inundates Abbottabad

ABBOTTABAD : Torrential rain before dawn on Monday submerged almost all thoroughfares in the city, flooded streets, dislocated traffic, and disrupted power and telecommunication networks.
According to the details, the rainfall began at midnight and continued for 8 hours caused a complete breakdown of urban life. It had exposed the inadequacy of the city’s drainage system, as the sewerage system in whole of Abbottabad city was choked and water accumulated in streets. 
While talking to this correspondent, Sarmad Faraz Abbasi Advocate and Sardar Shah Nawaz Khan Advocate, an Abbottabad based litigators by profession said in Monday morning, people woke up to heavy rain wherein areas found knee-deep rainwater in their streets and had to remain indoors.
They stated the scale of mismanagement in the city which saw rainwater turn roads into rivulets owing to the poor management of drainage and underground sewers caused unparalleled chaos and damage. All major roads were inundated, making movement of vehicular traffic difficult and causing staff delays in offices and other workplaces.
While expressing their vows, they regretted that Abbottabad once known for its unique geographical location and scenic vistas which appealed the tourists from across the country and overseas to visit the city for enjoying its lovely weather and shopping attractions.  Unfortunately, it has become victim of mismanagement and apathy of authorities concerned due to their myopic policies, administrative incompetence and negligence. The recent rains have paralyzed the city. Criminal indifference turned Abbottabad into ponds of water leaving a common inhabitants cringing with disgust. 
Amna Sardar, former lawmaker from Abbottabad said that the recent rains exposed grave shortcomings in planning, development and management of a city that houses over 1.5 million people. She regretted that administration had been doing nothing to solve the matter.
Ayub Teaching Hospital (ATH) was also flooded because of the hospital’s choked sewerage system which affected the handling of patients and mobility of doctors and nursing staff besides creating unhygienic conditions in and around the hospitals.Spokesperson of ATH briefed media that stagnant water in different wards of hospital had affected patients’ mobility and it accumulated in wards which could not be drained out as the surrounding areas were already inundated with rainwater.
Doctor Dawood, General Secretary of People’s Doctors Forum, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (PDF-KP), while lamenting on situation told that it is the failure of the administration that the rainwater entered the hospital. A number of patients suffered because it was not possible to walk in the corridors.
Social, religious and political circles have expressed concern over the situation and negligence by the Abbottabad district Administration, saying they had repeatedly brought this nasty situation into the notice of the authorities and public representatives but in vain. They made fervent appeal to KP chief minister and chief justice Peshawar High Court to look into the matter.