Chandigarh rain: In waist-deep water on the way to office | First person account

The feet felt wet and I saw water seeping in from the engine. The driver brought the Ertiga to a halt but didn’t switch off the engine till smoke started filling the vehicle

There’s nothing much you can do when you’re stuck in waist-deep muddy water in a stalled car except wait, pray and hold on to the mobile phone for dear life.

The Sohana gurdwara crossing in Mohali turned into a giant pool. (Yojana Yadav)

It all began at 8.30am. The 45-minute journey from Sector 12, Panchkula, to the Hindustan Times office in Phase 8B, Industrial Focal Point, Mohali, in the office cab turned out to be a four-hour ordeal on Monday morning.

Till the Zirakpur crossing on the Ambala-Chandigarh highway, the traffic jam seemed to stretch longer with desperate office-goers winding through any possible space. Having negotiated the chokepoint by 9.15am, it was a breeze on the highway to Patiala and from there onto Airport Road till the Indian School of Business in Mohali. Little did I know that negotiating the last 5km to office would take me the next three-and-a-half hours.

Trouble began near the Sohana gurdwara crossing in Mohali. Till then I was excitedly clicking photos and shooting videos. I didn’t realise our white Ertiga (the office cab) was heading to a point of no return. By the time we reached the road dividing the Radha Soami Satsang Dera and Sector 71 in Mohali, I could see stalled vehicles bobbing on both sides of the road. I asked the driver if we were in the first gear. Just don’t stop, I said, we’ll get past.

Baltana crossing on Zirakpur-Kalka highway on Monday morning (Yojana Yadav)

Suddenly, the feet felt wet and I saw water seeping in from the engine. The driver brought the Ertiga to a halt but didn’t switch off the engine till smoke started filling the vehicle. Office-goers on two-wheelers and bicycles pushed on, while those in cars abandoned their vehicles and waded through knee-deep water to climb on to the roadside that looked like islands of hope.

There was an eerie silence. After a couple of phone calls to colleagues and home, I looked around and saw a school bus stranded 500 metres ahead. Water gushed into houses on the other side in Sector 71. I dialled the police control room number 100 thrice but wasn’t able to get through. There was no cop in sight either on the stretch from 9.30am to 12.30pm.

A tractor toed an Endeavour (SUV) out of the deluge, leading the vehicles parked to bob like boats. Next came a maroon Volvo bus headed for the airport. It sent such a ripple effect that water in waves gushed in even from the small gap in the window. The damage was done. There was no way we could start the vehicle. The crossing was half a kilometre away.

I requested the driver to take help from pedestrians and push the Ertiga, while I steer it to the crossing. Every truck or bus that crossed our way sent us back as we pushed ahead. We reached the crossing 15 minutes later and the driver began calling up mechanics. It was 12.30pm as I stepped out of the car drenched but relieved to be back in a traffic jam.

I requested a motorcyclist for a lift to office and looked back at the road that resembled a brown river with vehicles still bobbing lifelessly on the sides. yyadav@hindustantimes.com