MONSOON FURY LEAVES TRICITY AFLOAT

Chandigarh : The tricity region comprising Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula woke up to the season’s heaviest and highest-ever rainfall recorded in the past at least 17 years. It threw normal life out of gear and poured lots of pain and misery on residents. Since it was morning time, school and office-goers were the worst-hit and a majority of them could not reach their destinations; resultantly a thin presence was witnessed at educational institutions and workplaces. The downpour started around 7 am and within an hour, the tricity was almost deluged. Mohali was the worst hit as it virtually floated. The 200-foot-wide road leading to the international airport turned into a full-fledged river with gushing waters taking a toll on the moving vehicular traffic. With the Airport road, which was constructed two years ago at a whopping Rs 170 crore (land cost excluded), disappearing under up to 4-foot-deep rainwater, vehicles started floating like unmanned boats in the heavy current of water. Such was the situation that the occupants of vehicles afloat could not even come out of their vehicles, which went totally out of their control and led to accidents.