Chandigarh, Jan 23 (PTI) Ending a prolonged dry spell, Punjab and Haryana witnessed widespread rainfall on Friday, bringing cheers to the farmers, but disrupting normal life in some areas.
While farmers welcomed the showers, they expressed concern over gusty winds, accompanied by rain, at many places.
Power supply was disrupted at many places for some time.
In Chandigarh, three boys, aged 16, 15 and 11, were injured when the roof of their house collapsed in Manimajra amid heavy rain, SHO Maninder Singh said. They were taken to a hospital and are said to be in a stable condition, he said.
Some incidents of trees getting uprooted due to heavy rain and strong winds were also reported.
With heavy rains and gusty winds lashing Chandigarh, an elderly couple had a narrow escape when a big tree fell on the veranda of their house.
In another incident, two cars and some electricity poles were damaged when a tree fell on them.
A portion of a false ceiling collapsed at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Chandigarh. “No one was injured, and the repair work was immediately carried out,” Dr Dasari Harish, Medical Superintendent of the hospital said over the phone.
Heavy traffic congestion was also reported at some places in Punjab and Haryana.
After several days, minimum temperatures recorded an increase and were up by six notches above normal at many places. However, due to the rains, the maximum temperatures on Friday registered a sharp drop.
Most places in the two states, including their joint capital Chandigarh, have been witnessing inclement weather since late Thursday night.
According to the local Met office, places in Punjab that received rain include Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Pathankot, Bathinda, Faridkot, Gurdaspur, Mansa and Rupnagar.
In Haryana, Ambala, Hisar, Karnal, Narnaul, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Sirsa and Sonipat received rainfall.
Chandigarh, which registered a maximum temperature of 26.3 degrees Celsius on Thursday, recorded a high of 13.5 degrees Celsius on Friday.
Among other places which saw a sharp fall in day-temperatures on Friday included Ludhiana, which registered a high of 13.2 degrees Celsius, Patiala 13 degrees, while Hoshiarpur recorded a high of 12 degrees Celsius.
In Haryana, Ambala recorded a maximum of 12.8 degrees, Karnal 13.6 degrees, Gurugram 16.8 degrees while Hisar recorded a high of 15.6 degrees Celsius.
However, farmers welcomed the rains, which ended a prolonged dry spell.
“After the end of the monsoon, we did not see a good spell of rain. But today’s rain will benefit the crops. Our only concern is the strong winds,” said Gurnam Singh, a Mohali-based farmer.
Dr Pavneet Kaur Kingra, professor and head, Climate Change and Agri Meteorology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, told PTI that the rain would be beneficial for the Rabi crops, including wheat. “This spell is good for crops because in the Rabi season, we didn’t experience much rain earlier. For all the Rabi crops, this spell of rain can provide the required moisture,” she said.
Meanwhile, the adverse weather conditions led to disruptions in power supply at many locations in Chandigarh.
High wind velocity caused continuous conductor sway, resulting in line-to-line faults, snapping of conductors, and damage to electric poles at select locations, a statement by the Chandigarh Power Distribution Ltd (CPDL) said.
Widespread uprooting of trees and the falling of large branches on overhead power lines led to disruptions inpower supply. As a result, repeated tripping and faults were reported on 11 kV, 33 kV, and 66 kV overhead feeders.
During the day, 182 breakdowns and 34 transient faults were recorded, largely due to tree-related obstructions and extreme weather conditions. Thirty seven electric poles were broken.
According to an official statement, the main reason for outages was uprooted trees that fell on electric lines.
The statement quoting a spokesperson of the power department said that an under-construction transmission tower fell on Banur Bhabat 66 KV line, leading to major disruption in the Zirakpur area.
“As per the reports received, around 600 plus (electric) poles were reported broken in Punjab along with major damage to distribution transformers,” the spokesperson said, while adding the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited staff worked throughout the day in difficult conditions to restore supply.
It said that the CPDL initiated response on a war-footing following the large-scale damage caused to overhead wires, conductors and other equipment across the city.
A few isolated pockets had to bear outage for a longer duration. PTI SUN MNK MNK
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