Rain spells chaos on roads, hits life

Weather experts from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) have predicted that rainfall will continue in the region, with moderate to heavy rain expected in its several parts on Wednesday. In the past 24 hours, the district recorded 39.6 mm of rainfall.

Dr PK Kingra, Head of the Meteorology Department at the PAU, said the rain was not harmful for the standing paddy crop as of now. However, in the city, continuous downpour has thrown normal life out of gear, leaving roads muddy and slushy.

Educational institutions, especially government schools, reported thin attendance.

“Students are unable to reach schools on bicycles and even autos are not available on time. For the past three-four days, attendance has remained extremely low,” said Charanjit Kaur, principal, Government Senior Secondary School, Cemetery Road.

Administration officials, meanwhile, assured that the situation remains under control.

“Though it has been raining continuously, the flow of the Sutlej is not alarming. Teams are monitoring the situation closely,” DC Himanshu Jain said.

The rain has also hit artisans making Lord Ganesha idols on Ferozepur Road.

Markets too witnessed a slowdown, with shops opening late and people struggling to reach their workplaces due to waterlogging and traffic disruptions. On Hambran Road, at Bhai Bala Chowk, Basti Jodhewal and on Tajpur Road, waterlogging was witnessed and traffic was seen moving at a snail’s pace. At Basti Jodhewal, a woman slipped and fell off a two-wheeler but did not get any injury.

Residents write to PSPCL

Perturbed over no light and water in the area for 28 hours, residents of Akash Nagar have written to the PSPCL to rectify the issue. Jagjit Singh, a resident, complained that power supply was not available on Monday from 3 am to 9 pm due to which people could not get water supply from tube wells. “On Monday night, power supply was restored but they failed to get water supply as a tube well got damaged. on Tuesday morning, when the people started taking water from a tube well, power supply again got disrupted. We are paying taxes still we are deprived of basic infra,” he said.

In many areas of the city, trees were uprooted due to continuous rain and winds. One of the councillors said almost all Class IV employees of the MC were busy attending complaints related to felling of the trees on roads and vehicles.