Rain pours misery; students worst hit

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 2

The second day of the month saw a record 68.7 mm of rainfall, the highest count in the month during the last seven years, throwing normal life out of gear.

The day began on a tough note for hundreds of students who were rushing to their respective centres to appear in the CBSE Class XII exams.

Showers over the last 24 hours till this evening resulted in power breakdowns, traffic chaos and uprooting of fully-grown trees Sectors 10, 22 and 46. A car was damaged after a tree fell on it in Sector 46. In several areas, power lines were damaged.

Traffic movement was the worst hit between 9.30 am and 10.30 am when office-goers were rushing for their workplaces. Long queues of vehicles were witnessed outside Class XII board examination centres as parents wanted to drop their children nearest to the exam centre. The school authorities complained of absence of policemen outside the examination centres.

Several roundabouts in the city were waterlogged causing breaking down of vehicles.

Met officials have forecast that rain will continue for the next three days and the day and night temperatures will dip further.

The Met Department recorded the maximum temperature at 17 degree Celsius, which is nine degrees below normal, and the minimum at 13.4 degree Celsius, which is two degrees above normal, in the city today.

Surinder Pal Singh, Director, Met Department, stated that day and night temperature plummeted following showers.

As per the Met forecast, there will be generally cloudy sky with the maximum temperature of 18 degree Celsius and the minimum of 13 degree Celsius.