By Miangul Abdullah

MINGORA, 26 FEB, (DNA) – Heavy rain accompanying gusty winds wrought havoc on public lives by causing losses and damaging the city infrastructure.
Reportedly a person was killed in Tiligram area of Manglawar, Tehsil Charbagh Swat, when the roof of the house caved in. While six shops erased to the ground by sliding in Kishwara at Malam Jabba road. However, human losses were not reported.
The heavy shower brought the civic life to a complete halt. The cities and the roads leading to them presented a deserted look.
The downpour also snapped some lived cables, effecting grid stations and electricity distributing feeders in some areas to disrupt power supply. That led to complete blackout in several areas.
Furthermore, the pools of water were standing everywhere on the roads. The damaged portions and lower parts of the ruined roads were under ankle deep water.
The Kalam valley entirely remained disconnected from other parts of the area, when a snow glacier fell from above the giant mountain to block the main road.
The rainwater filled the manholes and storm drains to the brim in the cities. The heaps of garbage stopped the water from entering the streams. As a result, the water having filled the manholes and the drains to the brims began to overflow the streets and other alleys as well as collected on the low laying areas.
Further overflowing from the streets, the water made its way to collect in the residential areas and on the main roads of Mingora city, which also remained inundated by the rain and drain water. As such almost all the major roads were submerged under the rain water that caused traffic jams despite the thinness of vehicles rarely seen on these roads.
The same also halted the business activities. Most of the markets in Mingora city remained closed. Shops and business centers, belonging to the people from different areas, surrounding the city, were closed.
Thousands of people, including the students remained stranded at their homes. The traffic remained thin throughout the day.
The intermittent rain began on Tuesday and continued till Monday evening incessantly. However, the water drained out afternoon when the downpour provided a breathing space to the drains and lanes, thus soon bringing the civic life to normalcy.
But after the short break till night, it is raining again with intervals till the filing of this report.
Generally, the people thought the rain would bring a blessing by a pleasant change in the weather particularly after the dry spell that continued for most part of the winter badly affecting the crops in the lower parts of Malakand Division.
Nevertheless, the dropdown in the mercury and increased humidity in the air after the heavy downpour that is normally viewed as a welcome change, especially among the farmers as well as general public following the long dry spell, has wrought havoc to the public lives. Not to mention of the disruption of power supply which is like ever a constant supplement to sour the initial outburst of joys and sorrows. DNA