Heavy rain wreaks havoc in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh; floods villages, causes waterlogging, traffic snarls

Chandigarh, August 11

Rain lashed Punjab and Haryana on Sunday, leaving many places inundated and commuters stranded on roads.

In Haryana's Yamunanagar district, several villages were flooded as the water level in the Som river rose due to the rain.

Chandigarh, Mohali, Ludhiana, Patiala, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar and Ambala were among the places that received rainfall.

Several areas in Ambala, Ludhiana, Mohali and Gurugram witnessed waterlogging.

Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, received 129.7 mm of rainfall, a meteorological department report said.

In Punjab, Rupnagar received 64 mm of rainfall, Patiala 62 mm, Ludhiana 57 mm, Mohali 32 mm, Faridkot 6.5 mm, Ferozepur 5 mm, and Pathankot and Amritsar 2 mm each, it said.

In Haryana, Ambala recorded 82 mm of rainfall, Gurugram 77 mm, Kurukshetra 40.5 mm, Kaithal 33 mm, Rohtak 10 mm, Narnaul 7 mm and Hisar 6.7 mm.

Several villages in Haryana's Yamunanagar district were inundated as the Som river breached its bank due to the rains.

Khanuwala, Bamnoli, Malikpur Bangar, Lalahadi and Manakpur villages were affected. Agricultural fields were submerged as 3-4-ft-deep water entered Khanuwala, prompting residents to move to safer places.

Officials said the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has been called in.

The rains brought Gurugram, which witnessed widespread waterlogging, to its knees.

Several arterial roads, including the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway, were waterlogged and people were seen wading through knee-deep water. Some were seen pushing their cars and two-wheelers as they broke down on inundated roads.

The rains brought the mercury two to six notches below normal in many parts of the two states, the weather department's report stated.