Squall throws life out of gear

Tribune News Service

Mohali, June 17

A thunderstorm lasting 20 minutes threw life out of gear in Phase 6 here, uprooting over 30 trees, causing a 24-hour blackout and hitting the water supply, besides blocking certain roads.

Though some vehicles and boundary walls got damaged after trees fell on these, there was no report of anyone getting hurt. Officials said the power supply, which got disrupted on Saturday evening, was restored on Sunday evening.

It all started around 6.30 pm on Saturday when a thunderstorm led to uprooting of trees in Phase 6. Trees fell on electricity poles, damaging around 25 of these, that led to a disruption in the power supply to the area for 24 hours.

The water supply also got affected. Officials said they used generators to supply water, but the water pressure was low.

The boundary wall of a local government school fell, while the gate of a house was broken after trees fell on these. A parked auto-rickshaw and a few cars were also damaged.

Following this, officials of the MC, electricity and horticulture wings swung into action. About 100 workers, local residents and NGOs were seen helping in the rescue work. The work on clearing trees from roads and fixing power continued till Sunday evening.

Ranjit Singh, Junior Engineer, said, “We saw such a thunderstorm for the first time here. It all happened in a few minutes. Around 30 to 50 trees were uprooted. Electricity poles were also damaged. We restored the power supply on Sunday evening.”

Area councillor RP Sharma, who was involved in the rescue work, said, “Roads, which were blocked due to uprooting of trees, have been cleared. On Monday, I will ask MC officials to form a team to inspect the area and identify dry trees.”