Chandigarh tricity area: Wind fury leaves trail of destruction, residents ‘powerless’ for hours

Howling winds blew through the city on Friday, starting as early as 3 am, preventing residents from having a peaceful night’s sleep, and turning into a nightmare through the day as the wind, accompanied by heavy rain, left behind a trail of destruction as trees got uprooted, branches lay strewn on roads and power lines were snapped, leaving several parts of the city without electricity for hours on.

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), wind speeds had gone up to 60km/h on the day. The conditions were caused by an active Western Disturbance in the region, which will continue till around Saturday noon, Met officials added. While those out on roads were left to brave the rain and the slippery stretches, besides the constant threat of a tree, branch or poll collapses, those at home were left powerless due to the outages. Several parts of Chandigarh reported outages, lasting as long as 12 to 14 hours. Power had not been restored even till late evening at some places, at the time of the filing of the report. The blackout also affected water supply in some areas. A spokesperson of the Chandigarh power distribution limited (CPDL) said the outage was a result of repeated tripping and faults 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 collapses and extreme weather conditions. As many as 37 poles were also uprooted. The official added that efforts are on at war footing to restore the power supply. Mohali and Panchkula were equally affected, with Phases 1, 2, 3 and 7, being the worst hit in terms of power outage. In Kharar, an official said more than 1,200 complaints related to the outage were received from residents till 6.30 pm.

A spokesperson of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) said that an under-construction transmission tower collapsed on the Banur-Bhabat 66 KV line, leading to a major disruption in the Zirakpur area. Reports indicate that more than 600 electricity poles were damaged across the state, along with damage to several distribution transformers. The spokesperson said PSPCL teams are on job to restore the supply.

HS Oberoi, deputy chief engineer of Mohali city, said that restoration work was taken up on a war footing soon after weather conditions improved. “By around 6 pm, electricity supply in most parts of the city was restored. However, our teams are working round-the-clock to repair damaged poles and restore power connections to individual houses where local faults persist,” he said.

Mayhem on roads

In Sector 32, a tree fell on a moving scooter, leaving the rider injured and the vehicle badly damaged. Area councillor Prem Lata said the youth was wearing a helmet, which saved his life. She alleged negligence on the part of the municipal corporation, stating that complaints regarding the removal of the dangerous tree branch had already been made.

In Sector 35-B, a tree crashed onto a house, narrowly missing a woman who was working inside at the time. Vehicular movement was particularly affected on the Chandigarh-Mohali Road near Sectors 39 and 40, where multiple trees fell simultaneously, causing major congestion. The rainfall even led to waterlogging on roads in Chandigarh. Water accumulation was reported across Madhya Marg, all internal sector roads, the Industrial Area, near the CTU workshop, Sector 35, near Hotel South End, Chandigarh-Panchkula Road near Housing Board lights.

In Mohali, a cow died of electrocution in Badmajra village after coming in contact with an open electric meter.

Second major rain spell of the year

This was the second rain spell of the year, but much stronger due to the effect of the strongest Western Disturbance of this season. As per IMD, 13.2 mm rain was recorded in the morning till 8.30 am while 25.1 mm rain was recorded later in the day till 5:30 pm. The total 38.3 mm rain on Friday is the highest since January 22 when 45.9 mm rain was recorded on January 23.

While thunderstorms and such gusty winds aren’t out of the ordinary for a strong Western Disturbance, IMD Chandigarh director Surender Paul said this was a very strong one due to which, many hill stations such as Shimla also experienced the first snowfall of the season on the day. Further, the record breaking high temperatures on Thursday further strengthened the storm on Friday which led to stronger winds on Friday and a more prolonged storm as gusty winds started from Friday morning and continued till the evening.

A fresh Western Disturbance is expected early next week but it’s unlikely to have a similar effect on the city.

While rain will stop from Saturday, the low temperatures are likely to continue for the next few days. Maximum temperature dropped by 13 notches, going from 26.3°C on Thursday to 13.5°C on Friday. This is 4.8 degrees below normal and the second lowest that the day temperature has gone this season. The lowest was on January 14 when the maximum temperature was 8.9°C.

Cold day conditions are also likely over the weekend while moderate to dense fog can also be expected in the city especially in the mornings and the evenings in the coming days.

With inputs from Hillary Victor, Mandeep Narula, Priyanka Thakur, Aarya Singh & Aashi Shekhar