37.5 mm rainfall in 3 hours clogs Chandigarh roads

According to the Chandigarh meteorological department, heavy rain is predicted on Saturday as well. “Also, on October 1, rain is predicted. Monsoons are receding and these are just the last few days of rain spell,” an official of the Met department said.

Horticulture wing of the corporation, however, did not receive any reports about trees falling in the city. The heavy waterlogging exposed the corporation’s claims of spending Rs 1.25 crore on cleaning of the road gullies.

However, officials of the corporation blame it on the inadequate capacity of the road gullies in the sectors. Civic officials have been taking the plea that road gullies can handle rain from 15 mm to 25 mm. In sectors 1 to 30, the road gullies have a capacity of 25 mm while sectors beyond that have a capacity up to 15 mm.

The chairman of the Federation of Sectors Welfare Association of Chandigarh, Baljinder Singh Bittu, said, “If they complain that the road gullies can’t take much rain, then why don’t they do anything about it? If the roads are flooding, this can’t be a smart city.”

Traffic moved at a snail’s pace due to the rain. Traffic chaos was witnessed on the Madhya Marg, Transport Chowk, and in area around Elante Mall in Industrial Area Phase 1, Chandigarh.

Friday’s rain brought down the maximum temperature by two degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature recorded on Friday was 31 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature on Thursday night was 22.2 degrees Celsius which was two degrees above normal.

On September 29, the weathermen have predicted the maximum temperature to go down to 30 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature will be around 24 degrees Celsius.