Monsoon showers lash Punjab, Haryana
CHANDIGARH/KARNAL/ROHTAK/ AMBALA: The south-west monsoon arrived in parts of Punjab and Haryana on Thursday, bringing rains at many places.
According to the meteorological department’s report, the south-west monsoon has advanced into some parts of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh on June 30.
Heavy rains occurred at Kaithal, Mahendergarh, Rewari, Sonepat and Yamunanagar, MET department said. Patiala, Mohali, Rupnagar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Hoshiarpur in Punjab also received rains. Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, was also left waterlogged for a while due to the downpour. Similar conditions were witnessed in some urban areas of Haryana, exposing the poor rain preparedness.
The state has reported average 20mm rainfall in the past 24 hours with most of the northern districts, including Karnal, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Panchkula and Panipat receiving rains.
As per the reports, 50mm rain was recorded in Morni, Ateli and Kalka and 30mm in Panchkula, Bawal, Jhajjar, Rewari, Mahendergarh and Sadhaura. Weatherman also predicted light to moderate rainfall at most places in Haryana in next 48 hours.
The arrival of monsoon brought cheer for Haryana farmers. “We were waiting for rains to prepare fields for paddy transplantation as we do not have enough resources to irrigate 10 acres,” said Raghubir Singh of Karnal’s Sherpur village. Farmers said the rains will prove a boon for sugarcane and green fodder. In Rohtak, heavy rains started lashing at 6am and continued till filing of this report. About 3-4ft water was logged on almost every road in Rohtak. Meenu Joon, who is preparing for competitive exams, said she could not reach her library in Rohtak, which is just 500 metres away from her accommodation due to waterlogging. A farmer, Vikas Yadav from Mahendergarh, said they got respite from rising temperature and are all set to grow moong and bajra crops. “This is an ideal time to grow crops. We will sow our crops once weather gets cleared,” he added. Congress’ Rohtak MLA BB Batra said the first rains of monsoon have exposed the tall claims of government and administration of better drainage facilities in the city.
Yamunanagar’s Bilaspur gets 130mm rain
Over 130mm rainfall was recorded in Yamunanagar’s Bilaspur region, which threw life out of gear. The heavy rains flooded several areas of the subdivision with commuters getting stuck in their vehicles. According to the data provided by the district administration, the subdivision received the highest rainfall in the district, followed by 113mm in Chhachharauli, 80mm in Jagadhri and others between 8am and 4pm. Two tributaries of Yamuna -- Som and Pathrala -- also crossed their normal water levels in the morning. RS Mittal, superintendent engineer, irrigation department, said, “By the evening, water levels reduced . Som was flowing at 6,000 cusecs against 10,000 cusecs and Pathrala at 1,000 cusecs against 4,000. No damage was reported.”
Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the rains after several days of scorching heat brought relief to the people, but the government’s mismanagement turned it into a disaster. Many cities, including Rohtak, were inundated and people’s houses and shops were flooded. Thousands of cars, scooters, bikes and other vehicles were submerged. There are frequent accidents due to waterlogging on the roads,” he said.