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PESHAWAR: Three persons were killed and 10 received injuries in roof collapse incidents in Bajaur and Swat districts as heavy rain lashed different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday.
In Bajaur, two women were killed and five people including four children were wounded when roof of a house collapsed in the hilly Gielle area of the district due to heavy rain.
Officials of Rescue 1122 and district administration said that all seven people were sleeping in the same room when the house of Shah Wakeel Khan collapsed. They were buried under the debris.
Rescue 1122 officials retrieved them from the debris and shifted them to district headquarters hospital Khar for treatment after administering first aid to them on the spot. However, doctors declared two of them dead. The deceased were identified as 34-year-old wife of Shaukat Khan and 36-year-old wife of Luqman Khan.
Roads in different districts remain blocked while hilly areas receive snow
Officials said that the injured, including 50-year-old wife of Shah Wakeel, Hamad Khan, 13, Fawad Khan, 10, Adnan Khan, 8, and Hina Bibi, 6, were being treated at the hospital.
Another woman was wounded in a similar incident in Allmazo area of Mamund tehsil of Bajaur. The woman identified as Safia Bibi, 25, was in her room when it caved in due to heavy rain.
Several houses and wall collapsed in different areas of the district due to heavy rain since Friday afternoon.
In Swat, one person was killed and four others were injured when the roof of a house collapsed in Meena Bazaar Brikot.
According to Rescue 1122 Swat, the roof of the house collapsed on Sunday afternoon, burying family members under the debris. Dawa Khan was killed while Zakir, Sara, Sohail and Gulisha sustained severe injuries in the incident. The injured were shifted to hospital for treatment.
Like other parts of the country, Swat continues to experience rain and snow. Kalam, Matiltan, Gabral and Utror received heavy snow while rain lashed the plains. Meteorological department has predicted more rain and snowfall on Monday and Tuesday.
In Shangla, heavy rain coupled with hailstorm caused blockade of Karakoram Highway, Bisham-Swat road and other arteries.
The new spell of rain started on Friday in the district continued for third consecutive day on Sunday.
Hailstorm and heavy downpour paralysed routine of life in the area as supply of electricity remained suspended.
Police said that Karakoram Highway was blocked in Kunshi area near Khan Khawar power house and work was under way to remove debris from the road.
Assistant Commissioner of Chakesar Mohammad Hamid Saddiqui told Dawn that heavy rain and hailstorm were hindering the rehabilitation and road clearance work. He said they had asked the communication and works department and tehsil municipal administration to reopen the blocked roads. Rehabilitation work would be resumed as soon as the rain stopped, he added.
High flow of water was witnessed in local rivers and streams on Sunday.
In Hazara division, the rain, which started in the early morning, continued intermittently the rest of the day in Mansehra, Torghar, Kolai-Palas, Upper Kohistan and Lower Kohistan.
Judbah-Thakot road was blocked to all sorts of traffic in Torghar after heavy boulders detached from a nearby mountain rolled down on it in Spingar area.
Locals have demanded the district administration to clear the artery, which also links Torghar with Karakoram Highway and Hazara Expressway.
Ziaur Rehman, the chairman of Dilbori village council, has shown sympathies with families of three herdsmen killed in lighting in Oghi the other day. He also demanded of the government to compensate the bereaved families.
In Lower Dir, heavy rain disrupted routine traffic on roads and voting in polling stations as it continued to rain heavily in parts of the district for the second consecutive day.
Hilly areas in Upper Dir including Lowari, Doog Dara, Kumrat and Barawal Sar also received snow. Rainwater also entered markets in Timergara, inflicting heavy financial losses on local traders.
Local businessmen Syed Zahir Shah, Ajmal Khan and others complained that district administration and tehsil municipal administration did nothing to clear the choked drains in the city.
They said that rainwater from villages located at high altitude flowed into the city and entered markets owing to choked drains every time when it rained. They demanded of the administration to take notice of the problem and resolve it soon.
They also demanded proper compensation for the affected traders. They threatened to protest against the administration if the problem was not resolved within a week.
In Kohat, rain and hailstorm in Kachai and adjacent areas on Hangu road damaged wheat, fruits and vegetables, causing losses to farmers.
Growers have appealed to the government to announce a relief package for them. Esar Bangash, a local elder, told Dawn that the area was famous for production of luqat, plum, grapes and wheat that were destroyed by rain and hailstorm.
He said that fodder for their cattle was also destroyed.
In South Waziristan, two houses collapsed and wheat crop was badly affected due to heavy rain.
Locals said that a house collapsed in Shakai tehsil and another in Angoor Adda of Birmal tehsil. They said that standing crops in the district were badly damaged by continuing rain.
Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2024
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