Rain wreaks havoc in Punjab, Haryana

Rivulets and nullahs were in spate in the two states causing flash floods at several places. Two persons were washed away  in a nullah near Zirakpur, while a teenaged girl was swept away at Lalru in Punjab.

Three persons were electrocuted as a transformer collapsed due to flood waters in Ambala.
In Chandigarh, 15 school children had a miraculous escape when the bus carrying them was trapped under four feet water collected at a road depression after heavy rain. Armymen were summoned to rescue the children and the driver.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had an aerial survey of the floods at Ambala and Kurukshetra on Wednesday. Floods were caused due to high water level in river Ghaggar and flooding of SYL canal. Many trains originating from and coming to Chandigarh including the Shatabdi were either delayed or cancelled. Traffic on the National Highway 1 between Ambala and Delhi remained suspended for over 10 hours on Tuesday due to flooding of the highway.

In Chandigarh, many flights were delayed as the airport was flooded with water and commuters had to wade through two feet water to reach the terminal. Flood control rooms have been set up at state headquarters here by the two states for the round-the-clock monitoring of flood situation.

The Punjab government has sanctioned Rs 10 crore for flood protection and relief work and has asked district officials to seek the help of the Army if required. Over 144 mm of rainfall has been recorded in Punjab in the past 24 hours, while Chandigarh has witnessed 204 mm of rainfall in the past 48 hours. Among the districts affected by floods include Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib and Sangrur.