Rain lashed Chandigarh and parts of Punjab and Haryana on Sunday, bringing down temperatures by a few notches, but disrupting power supply in the Union Territory and at a few other places.
In Chandigarh, people woke up to dark clouds blanketing the sky, followed by strong winds, a dust storm and a sharp spell of rain.
Power supply was disrupted in a few places, while strong winds uprooted some trees and fell several tree branches. However, the sky cleared up in the afternoon.
Rain was also reported from other parts of Punjab, including Mohali, Rupnagar, Hoshiarpur, Phagwara, Amritsar and Ludhiana, while in Haryana — Panchkula, Ambala and Yamunanagar — received rain.
In Punjab’s Hoshiarpur, a local industrialist was injured when a sudden squall accompanied by rain in the early morning uprooted some electricity poles and trees in the Industrial Focal Point at Purhiran area, officials said.
Strong winds struck the area around 6 am, bringing down six to seven electricity poles and uprooting two large trees.
The industrialist from Hoshiarpur was passing through the area on his scooter when some of the falling poles and high-tension wires collapsed on him, Purhiran Station House Officer, Sub-Inspector Jagjit Singh, said.
The man, who sustained injuries, was rushed to a nearby hospital.
He is currently undergoing treatment, police said, adding that his scooter was crushed under the metal structure of the fallen poles.
Officials said a major tragedy was averted as the power supply in Purhiran was already shut down due to the squall, and the fallen high-tension wires were not live at the time of the incident.
Movement at the Industrial Focal Point area was disrupted for some time as fallen poles and wires blocked roads.
According to Chandigarh Power Distribution Limited (CPDL), high-velocity winds associated with heavy rains early morning led to the failure of supply from the 220kV substation Mohali and the 66kV Substation BBMB.
High-pressure winds also caused uprooting of several trees and the fall of heavy branches onto power lines, disrupting power supply in multiple parts of Chandigarh.
The sudden impact caused significant damage to overhead infrastructure, resulting in outages across Chandigarh, CPDL said in a statement.
Responding promptly to the situation, the supply area affected from Mohali and BBMB was backfed through alternate sources from the 220kV Hallo Majra and the 220 kV Kishangarh, thereby restoring the supply in a larger part of the city within 1-2 hours, it said.
Simultaneously, all the patrolling and restoration teams of CPDL were immediately mobilised to the various impacted lines.
Senior officials of CPDL closely supervised the restoration operations, maintaining continuous monitoring and ensuring seamless coordination between field staff and the command centre, the company said.
“Dedicated teams worked under demanding conditions to repair damaged lines. Their sustained efforts helped restore electricity supply in most of the affected areas in the minimum possible time,” the company statement said.
While the majority of disruptions were resolved in the shortest possible time, some areas experienced extended outages due to extensive damage to infrastructure, requiring more detailed repair and safety checks before restoration, it said.
Meanwhile, many parts of Punjab were lashed by a dust storm and a downpour in the morning.
In Phagwara, rain gave much-needed respite from the scorching summer heat as the mercury dropped by several degrees, though the power supply was disrupted for a long time due to the dust storm.
Dark clouds plunged the city into semi-darkness in the morning, forcing the vehicles to ply with their headlights on.Lightning and thunder accompanied the downpour.
In Chandigarh, the maximum temperature settled at 33.2 degrees Celsius, down five notches against normal.
Amritsar recorded a high of 32.8 degrees Celsius, over five notches below normal. Ludhiana recorded a high of 33.5 degrees while Patiala’s maximum settled at 34.6 degrees Celsius, both below normal by four notches against normal.
Hoshiarpur recorded a high of 31.5 degrees Celsius.
In Haryana, Ambala recorded a high of 33.2 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal limits, while Hisar recorded a high of 35.8 degrees Celsius, five degrees below normal.
Karnal recorded a high of 32.6 degrees Celsius while Gurugram registered a maximum of 34.5 degrees Celsius.
