GUJAR KHAN: Heavy rain on Monday inundated several commercial and residential areas of Gujar Khan, causing substantial financial losses to traders and raising fresh concerns over the city’s drainage infrastructure.
The newly renovated Modern Bazaar, completed under a special initiative of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, was also flooded. Traders and residents attributed the widespread waterlogging to inadequate drainage arrangements and alleged deficiencies in road levelling.
Local PML-N leader Saqib Baig and other social figures claimed that more than Rs8 million had been spent on improving the city’s nullahs and drainage network. They questioned the effectiveness of the expenditure after the system failed to cope with the latest spell of heavy rainfall.
Several basement shops near under-construction underpasses were among the worst affected. Traders alleged that blocked drains, piles of excavated soil and poorly managed construction sites diverted rainwater towards commercial areas, leaving businesses submerged.
Sheikh Waseem, a footwear trader, said goods worth approximately Rs5 million were destroyed after floodwater entered his basement shop.
Khawaja Amir, proprietor of Junaid Traders, said he arrived at his shop in the morning to find nearly 10 feet of water inside the basement. He said LED televisions, microwave ovens, washing machines and other electrical appliances had been submerged, resulting in losses of more than Rs1 million.
Other traders, including Daud Bhatti, Imran Sheikh and Daud Sheikh, also expressed concern over the damage to their businesses and criticised the authorities for what they described as inadequate preventive measures despite the area’s vulnerability to flooding.
The traders blamed municipal authorities and contractors working on underground electricity service lines for failing to properly manage excavated portions of roads. They alleged that piles of soil along roads obstructed the natural flow of rainwater, while already clogged drains further aggravated the situation.
They also complained that officials had not visited vulnerable locations before the rainfall to assess the risks and that water pumps were not deployed promptly to remove accumulated water.
The affected traders and residents appealed to Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and the Rawalpindi commissioner to take notice of the situation, order an inquiry into the causes of the flooding and consider compensation for businesses that suffered major losses.
They also called for an immediate technical assessment of Gujar Khan’s drainage network and better coordination in ongoing development and utility projects to prevent similar flooding during future heavy rainfall.
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