Life hit in Mohali, trees uprooted

Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 24

Incessant rain disrupted life in Mohali town, leaving several parts submerged and eight trees uprooted. Besides, incidents of road cave-in were also reported.

Due to the overnight rain, several parts of the town, including Phase 8, 9 and 11, Sector 70 and 71, the Industrial Area and Madanpura, Shahi Majra, Mohali and Mataur villages saw huge waterlogging. Several roads were under nearly one-foot water, which resulted in traffic chaos at several places, especially during the afternoon. 

According to sources, eight trees got uprooted at different places, including Phase 7 near the Chawla petrol pump, on the road separating Phase 5 and the Industrial Area and near Madanpura Chowk.

“Traffic was disrupted due to the uprooted trees at Madanpura and Phase 5,” said Amarpreet Singh, a local resident. Long traffic jams were seen at the Landran T-point. “The condition of the road from the Mohali District Courts to the Landran T-point was pathetic with huge potholes posing a threat to commuters,” said Surjit Singh, a resident of Landran village.

A few days ago, Punjab Cabinet Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu had gone to the spot to start repair work on the road. “The authorities had then used soil to fill the potholes. However, the soil got washed away with rainwater immediately after the repair work,” said a local resident.

The continuous rain also caused incidents of road cave-in on the stretch near the Forest Department light point. Due to the poor condition of the road, the authorities closed it today and diverted traffic from it. The condition of the service lane of Airport Road near the main entrance to the Chandigarh international airport, on which three incidents of road cave-in have already taken place, further worsened. 

Nothing to panic, says Mohali DC

Mohali DC Gurpreet Kaur Sapra, who visited several parts of the district to assess the situation following the rain, said there was nothing to panic. “Though the water level of the Ghaggar and the Patiala Ki Rao rivulet has increased, there is no need to panic. Our teams are on the alert,” said Sapra. She said a district-level flood control room had been set up with the helpline number (0172-2219505) to deal with any emergency.