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Heavy rainfall soaks Ludhiana, blocked roads hit normal life
Normal life was thrown out of gear as the heavy rainfall added to the congestion at the under-construction Bhai Bala intersection, Bharat Nagar Chowk, Sherpur chowk, and Dholewal flyover in Ludhiana
The hours-long spell of rainfall on Sunday night continuing till Monday morning led to waterlogging in low-lying areas, causing major inconvenience to residents already battling with sluggish pace of traffic in various parts of the city.
Traffic came to a standstill on important cityroads including Ferozepur road, Pakhowal Road, National Highway(NH-44), Chandigarh road and Gill road.
Normal life was thrown out of gear as the rains added to the congestion at the under-construction Bhai Bala intersection, Bharat Nagar Chowk, Sherpur chowk, and Dholewal flyover.
With another brief spell of rain on Monday afternoon, the roads were jam-packed due to school buses, adding to the already congested roads.
A massive jam was witnessed at the Dholewal flyover during the morning hours due to ongoing work to replace the expansion joints. The rain
also had an impact on vehicular movement in the inner parts of the city as water accumulated on the roads due to clogged drainage systems
and potholes.
The rain also left a muddy layer on the roads which irked public transport users and motorists alike.
Priyam Kumar, who works at a private bank said that he travels from Samrala to his office on Mallroad by bus.
“The condition of the Bharat Nagar chowk is a regular nuisance for people who use public transport,” he said, adding that that as the water gets accumulated around the intersection, there is no place for people who use buses and auto rickshaws to stand.
He said that the city ranks poor when it comes to creating infrastructure to support the commuters from neighbouring towns who use public transport.
Several areas, including Feroze Gandhi Market, BRS Nagar, and clock tower road also witnessed jams with vehicles getting stuck for long durations.
Daljit Kaur, a resident of Sarabha Nagar, said that the traffic movement in the city has become so bad that it takes almost an hour to travel a few kilometres within the city. She said that it took her over half an hour to just pass through the Feroze Gandhi market.
Puddles of rainwater on the potholed portion of the Ferozepur road hampered the traffic movement for the whole day.
Ranjit Singh, an outlet owner, said that before the rain, the plumes of construction residue would harass the commuters, but now it has been replaced by mud and slush.
Assistant commissioner of police (ACP, traffic 2) Charanjiv Lamba said that as more four-wheelers were on the roads due to rainfall, jams
were reported from several parts of the city, and police also towed away several vehicles parked in the wrong places. He said that people are advised to adopt carpooling.
The low-lying areas of the city, including, Kailash Nagar, Upkar Nagar, Kundanpuri, and Chander nagar were left with slush and water-filled potholes.
Balwinder Singh, a resident of Chander Nagar, said that the brief rain has brought forth the poor condition of the rainwater drainage system. He said that as the road alongside the Budhha Nullah is under construction, the rainwater has aggravated their woes.
According to the meteorological department, the Ludhiana district has received a total of 14 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours and a 32 mm rainfall received in a week against the average rainfall of 28.3mm required in a month.
Dr Pavneet Kaur Kingra, head department of climate change and agricultural meteorology Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), said that there will be some relief from rain as showers are not expected in the early days of February.
While the maximum temperature remained 19.6 degrees Celsius, the minimum was recorded at 13.0 degree Celsius. Dr Kingra said that there was a 7.1 degree rise in the minimum temperature, while a rise of 4.1 degrees was witnessed in the maximum temperature.
