2 killed, several injured as freak weather lashes Chandigarh

CHANDIGARH: Two persons were killed and many were injured as freak weather hit the region on Wednesday. Strong surface winds of 70 kmph and thundershowers brought life to halt for around an hour in most parts of the region, including the Tricity.
Meanwhile, most parts of Chandigarh, Panchkula, Mohali and Zirakpur experienced power shutdown.

A wall in Patiala city’s Rishi colony house collapsed when the dust storm struck with high velocity winds. The deceased, identified as Harminder Singh, 60 and Raju, 32, died within minutes of the collapse. Bhola Singh, 32, was admitted to the government Rajindra hospital with serious injuries.

According to the police, Harminder was the owner of the plot where two labourers Raju and Bhola were working when the incident happened.

The police said the trio took shelter behind the wall to escape from the high-velocity storm but it fell on them. The ambulance was rushed to the spot after the nearby residents called for help.

ASI Daljit Singh said a case under relevant sections of the IPC was registered for proceedings after recording the statements while the post-mortem of the bodies had been conducted.

The Tricity residents, going about their routine, were caught in the dust storm and rain. “My entire mouth was filled with dust. I could not breathe. I hid inside a shop that closed its doors to keep safe,” said Apalika Jindal, a local resident who went shopping in the Sector 19 market.

“The dust enveloped the city after the storm like fog and the day appeared like late evening. It was so dark. I had to use my car’s headlights. It was a crazy one hour,” said Saurabh Rana, a Panjab University student.

On the other hand, three people were reportedly injured in a parking stand near the NIS in Patiala after a tree fell down.

In another incident, a car parked at the rear of the AC market in Patiala was damaged after some branches of the tree fell on it. In another incident, a PSPCL transformer fell in the Chhoti Baradari area of the city.