7 cars damaged as unipoles fall in Zirakpur

Zirakpur, June 5

Three unipoles crashed down, damaging seven cars, in separate incidents as a dust storm lashed Zirakpur this evening.

A 40-ft-high unipole split into two and damaged five vehicles in the parking lot of the Oxford Street, as storm and showers lashed the tricity. No one was injured in the mishap, but it brought back the memories of Ghatkopar billboard collapse on May 13. Seventeen persons had died and 75 were injured in Mumbai after a giant-sized hoarding crashed onto a petrol pump due to gusty winds and unseasonal rains. The dust storm hit Zirakpur around 4.30 pm and lasted around 15 minutes. High-velocity winds continued to lash the tricity till late in the evening.

The towering unipole advertising ‘Royale Estate Group’ in Oxford Street crashed down with a thud on the vehicles parked near Chutney House, a restaurant, on the Zirakpur-Ambala national highway.

Passersby near the board ran away to safety. After the incident, a heavy crowd gathered in the area.

Aditya, the owner of a damaged vehicle, said, “Who is responsible for the safety of life and property of residents here? Who will check whether the hoarding they had erected did not pose any risk to the visitor here? I do not know who will compensate for my loss. I had parked the car here at 4.30 pm and gone away for some work. When I reached here at 6 pm I found it damaged.”

In the second incident, a unipole in High Street on VIP Road fell on two parked cars. In the third incident, a unipole came down snapping electricity cables. The power supply in the area remained disrupted for hours.

There are scores of giant-sized unipoles and hoardings in the urban areas of Mohali district, which need to be audited for structural stability, design and quality, local residents said, fearing loss of life and property.