Flood threat forces residents to leave homes

. Photo: Express Following the Meteorological Department's forecast of another spell of out-of-season heavy rain on Friday, September 4 and 5, Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner Nadeem Nasir has barred children from leaving their homes during rainfall across the district and issued directives in this regard. The directive states that once the heavy rain begins, parents should not allow their children to go outside. The administration has also acknowledged that around 200 manholes across the district have not been fitted with protective grilles or covers due to a severe shortage of funds. Orders had been issued to install protective grilles capable of bearing a weight of 100 kilogrammes in the manholes. The administration has also failed to construct protective walls along the drains. Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has forecast further rains in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and the Potohar region on September 4 and 5, following which a rain emergency has also been imposed for the current week. Amid continuous destructive rains and four floods in three weeks, residents living along the 18-kilometre-long Nullah Leh and 15 major rainwater drains, as well as those residing near their banks and in highly low-lying areas, have temporarily shifted to safer places for one month.