Mohali among worst-hit dists, over 50 villages inundated

Gaurav Kanthwal

Mohali, July 10

With rain continuing to lash the region for the third consecutive day today, Mohali was one of the worst-affected districts, including Rupnagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Jalandhar (rural) and Patiala, of Punjab. Around 50 villages in Dera Bassi situated alongside the Ghaggar river have been affected.

Crops and livestock have suffered extensive damage. Villagers in Dera Bassi, Kharar and Kurali areas said their paddy fields had been completely destroyed.

At Rurka village in Mohali, around 40 residents are staying put on the upper floors of their flooded houses. The water from the Patiala ki Rao and Jayanti ki Rao entered the ground floor of houses in the village. The NDRF teams and officials have been camping in the village. They have managed to evacuate around 45 residents. They are being have been provided shelter in the village gurdwara. The administration and charitable organisations have arranged for food for them.

The officials said around 40 residents were not ready to leave their houses in the village and staying put on top floors. Police personnel in sufficient numbers have been deployed in the village. “They were provided food yesterday and asked to vacate the houses, but they are not ready to leave. The water level in those houses has not receded till afternoon and it is becoming increasingly difficult to reach there now.”

Residents of Thaska village, near Daun, expressed concern as their crops on acres suffered damaged due to a swollen Jayanti ki Rao rivulet.

Some villages in the Gharuan area have been affected but no damage has been reported so far. Residents said the situation had become alarming near Jamuna Apartments and Khanpur due to waterlogging on the main Chandigarh-Ropar highway.

In Phase-8, Mohali, a car was damaged after a wall collapsed on it. Residents of TDI City alleged that they had been without water and electricity supply for the past 30 hours.

In Phase-6 and Badhmajra, slum dwellers said around 2,000 persons had to put their lives at risk as they were surrounded by floodwaters. The residents, along with children, have to wade through waist-deep water to reach a safe place. Rainwater from Dhanas, Maloya and “Dadumajra have flooded the Badhmajra area,” they alleged.

The Max hospital light point-Ranimajra road was blocked after a portion of it got washed away. The police barricaded the stretch.

In Kurali, a team of the Municipal Council rescued elderly persons from their houses in Ward No. 12, Mata Rani Mohalla.

Mohali, Zirakpur powerless

A large number of colonies in Zirakpur, Baltana, Mohali (IT City, Aero City, TDI City) and Kharar remained powerless for 24-36 hours due to disruption in the PSPCL supply. Zirakpur XEN Surinder Singh Bains said, “Power supply has been switched off in residential societies in view of waterlogging there. The supply will be restored once the rainwater recedes.”