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Ludhiana: 60km/hr winds, heavy showers lash city; IMD issues orange alert till May 5
Municipal corporation horticulture officer Kirpal Singh said several complaints were received after the storm.Civic teams were pressed into service to clear debris and restore normalcy
Gusty winds clocking 50-60 kmph and rain battered Ludhiana early on Sunday, uprooting trees, snapping branches and disrupting normal life in several parts of the city. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 24 mm rainfall till 8.30 am in the city on Sunday and has issued an orange alert for thunderstorms and strong winds till Tuesday.
The storm left a trail of damage across multiple localities, with fallen branches obstructing traffic movement and power supply disrupted in some areas.
Civic teams were pressed into service to clear debris and restore normalcy.
Municipal corporation horticulture officer Kirpal Singh said several complaints were received after the storm.
“We received many complaints of branches breaking away due to strong winds. Some roads in BRS Nagar were blocked by fallen branches, but these were removed promptly,” he said.
In one such incident, scaffolding around a private construction site near Wave Mall collapsed onto adjoining electricity poles, triggering a power outage in the area.
The IMD said scattered to fairly widespread light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of 30-50 kmph is likely over Punjab from May 3 to May 6.
It further warned of thundersquall conditions on May 4 and 5, with wind speeds likely to reach 50-60 kmph and gust up to 70 kmph. The forecast also indicated the possibility of hailstorm activity in isolated pockets.
The abrupt shift in weather brought respite from the prevailing heat. Ludhiana’s maximum temperature dropped by 4.6 degrees Celsius to 33.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday, while the minimum settled at 18 degrees Celsius, down 3.7 degrees from Saturday.
Officials said the rainfall did not pose any immediate threat to wheat procurement, with most of the harvested crop already lifted from mandis.
District mandi officer Gurmatpal Singh said 7.36 lakh metric tonnes of wheat had been procured in Ludhiana district so far, accounting for over 90% of the expected arrivals.
