Bathinda, Jalandhar wail after rain stops
11 RESCUED FROM FLOODED POST OFFICE IN BATHINDA, FIVE ROOFS COLLAPSE IN JALANDHAR
CHANDIGARH: Rain in Punjab left many cities waterlogged on Saturday. People had to be rescued from a flooded post office in Bathinda and five roofs collapsed in Jalandhar.
Punjab Agricultural University’s weather centre in Bathinda recorded more than 100-mm rain. The city’s Ajit Road, 100-foot road, Powerhouse Road, Sirki Bazaar, Mall Road, Ganesha Basti, Nai Basti, Amrik Singh Road, and Guru Nanak Pura Mohalla were under 4 feet of water at many places.
An officer living in the lowlying Civil Lines area said water had entered his bedroom. The post-office workers in the area had to call police for help in evacuation. “With water all around, we got so scared,” said an officer who was saved. Bathinda deputy commissioner Basant Garg said 11 people had been rescued from the post office, even as 12 were still trapped till late evening. The administration is monitoring the situation.
In Jalandhar, more than four hours of heavy showers brought respite from heat in what has been a deficient monsoon season but faulty drainage had people sweating. Only 40% of the city has storm-water drainage system, while pumps clear water from the remaining areas, which takes time.
The 120-foot-road, Focal Point, Lamba Pind Chowk, Chandan Nagar, Sodal Road, Basti Danishmanda, Basti Bawa Khel, Model House, Damoriya Bridge, Ekehari Puli, Neela Mahal, Gopal Nagar, and GT Road were the worst-affected areas. Even the road outside the district administration was flooded and a few people were injured in five incidents of roof collapse.
At Phagwara, legislator Som Parkash had to respond to the increasing complaints of bad drainage from colonies under knee-deep water. He walked the flooded streets with mayor Arun Khosla and Bharatiya Janata Party workers.
The maximum temperature in the state hovered below normal in some areas. Amritsar settled at 27.2 degrees Celsius, seven notches below normal, after 10 millimetre rain during the day. Ludhiana and Patiala, which received 4.2 mm and 8.2 mm rain, respectively, had maximum temperatures of 29.2 and 32.6°C. The figure was 33.8°C in capital city Chandigarh.
The weather department has predicted more rain or thundershowers at isolated places in Punjab on Sunday.