No respite in sight as Chandigarh, Panchkula, Mohali brace for potential floods

Medium to heavy rainfall continuing for the last four days has caused flood-like situations in several parts of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula.

With Sukhna Lake and Ghaggar river running in spate, the opening of floodgates has added to woes of the residents living along the Sukhna Choe. The Ghaggar’s rising water levels are a cause of worry to those residing along its banks in Panchkula and Mohali districts.

The downpour that began on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday continued on Monday as well, leading to massive waterlogging, damage to public property and major traffic snarls on most of the roads and busy junctions across Tricity.

Several stretches of roads were washed away and closed for traffic while landslides kept the residents in the vulnerable pockets of Morni, Barwala, Pinjore and Raipur Rani blocks cut off from other areas.

Reports of trees and poles falling on vehicles and damaging public property, besides disruption in power and water supplies were also received from different parts of Tricity.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued orange and yellow alerts for heavy to very heavy rain coupled with thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places in Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana for the next two days – Tuesday and Wednesday.

During the last 24 hours, Chandigarh received 99.9-mm rainfall while Mohali and Panchkula were lashed with 84-mm and 77-mm downpour.

The administrations of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula have sounded alerts, advising the residents to exercise restraint and stay away from the swollen waterbodies and vulnerable areas.

SSP Kanwardeep Kaur with Deputy Commissioners Nishant Kumar Yadav (Chandigarh), Komal Mittal (Mohali) and Monica Gupta (Panchkula) conducted field visits in their respective districts to take stock of the situation on the ground and assess the damage caused.

“The safety and wellbeing of every citizen remains our foremost priority. The UT Administration is fully committed to timely assistance, effective preparedness, and building a more resilient Chandigarh,” Chandigarh Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said.

In Mohali, the DC confirmed loss of a farmer’s life due to drowning in Lalru, collapse of a kutcha house and damage to standing crops over 2,000 acres of land.

“Around 7,000 residents were hit due to disrupted access roads,” Komal said, while informing that the affected areas include Tiwana, Khajur Mandi, Sadhanpur and Dangdhera.

According to her, heavy rainfall and strong water flow in the seasonal rivulets/choes has also disrupted road connectivity to five villages near Jayanti Ki Rao rivulet. In addition, some roads and culverts have suffered damage.

In Panchkula, the DC has ordered closure of schools in the vulnerable areas across Morni, Barwala, Pinjore and Raipur Rani blocks on Tuesday.

In Chandigarh, the officiating Chief Secretary Mandip Singh Brar reviewed the city’s response in view of the incessant rainfall and discussed the measures to strengthen the disaster preparedness with the heads of departments concerned.

Meanwhile, the downpour dipped the mercury considerably during day and night. While the day temperature slipped between 2 and 2.8 notches, the night temperature went down by upto 4°C.

However, the relative humidity in Chandigarh remained 96 per cent today.

The IMD has predicted generally and partially cloudy skies with thunderstorms and rain for the next five days in Tricity till September 6, during which the maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to remain between 30 and 23°C.

Flood control room numbers

• Chandigarh: 0172-2747820, 2690523, 2703507, 2655816, 2642611, 2648610, 2734656
• Mohali: 0172-2219506, 7658051209 (Mohali), 0160-2280222 (Kharar), 01762-283224 (Dera Bassi)
• Panchkula: 0172-2562135