Rain causes traffic chaos in Chandigarh during peak hours

The heavy rain left most key roads and busy roundabouts of the city waterlogged, causing traffic chaos during the peak evening hours. The city recorded 86 mm rainfall in the past 12 hours from 8 am to 8 pm.

The rain intensified around 5.20 pm when most commuters were returning home from offices. Savita Devi, an employee of the Punjab Government, said the rain caused huge traffic jams on the busy roundabouts. The heavy rain continued for half an hour, bringing traffic to a grinding halt at many places. She said it took her over an hour to reach home in Mohali.

Ram Singh, an employee of the Chandigarh Administration, said it was a nightmare travelling in Chandigarh in the rainy season. The condition of the roads is pitiable at many places.

Meanwhile, following the heavy rain in the city and the Sukhna Lake catchment area, one of the three floodgates was today opened again around 7.30 pm. The water level in the lake reached near the danger mark of 1,163 feet. Earlier, the floodgate was opened around 11 am on Wednesday and closed after 12 hours, around 11 pm the same day. The floodgate was opened to release the excess lake water into the Ghaggar river through the Sukhna Choe.

According to officials, the gate was opened at up to the height of three inches when the water level reached 1,162.95 feet and it would be closed when the level receded to nearly 1,162 ft.

On Wednesday, the floodgate was opened after two years, up to the height of six inches and was closed when the water level dipped to 1,162.20 ft.

The UT Engineering Department has deployed officials at the regulator end of the lake on a 24x7 basis and installed CCTV cameras to regularly monitor the water level. A control room has also been established to coordinate with the district administration of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula for a proper communication during the opening of floodgates.

The officials said the district administrations of the neighbouring districts were alerted before opening of the floodgate. The department had opened the floodgates to check their working condition on June 28.

Floodgates were opened four times in 2023, six times in 2022, and five times in 2021. The opening of two floodgates in August 2020 caused a severe flooding in the low-lying areas of Zirakpur situated alongside the Sukhna Choe. On September 24, 2018, the floodgates were opened after a gap of 10 years.

lightning strikes house in Sec 39-D

Lightning struck a house in Sector 39-D during the rain. A portion of the house (No. 3043) was damaged. The members of the family said they had a miraculous escape.