Three missing as car washes away near Nayagaon
Three people went missing after a taxi, shuttling two commuters, was swept away in a flashflood in the Patiala-Ki-Rao rivulet as the driver attempted to cross the causeway in Tanda Village near Nayagaon
Tricity residents woke up to heavy rainfall for the second time this month on Wednesday. The monsoon showers, which merely lasted for two-and-a-half hours, caused severe waterlogging in peripheral areas of the city, throwing life out of gear, and jeopardising commuters’ lives.
Three people went missing after a taxi, shuttling two commuters, was swept away in a flashflood in the Patiala-Ki-Rao rivulet as the driver attempted to cross the causeway in Tanda Village near Nayagaon.
The wallet of the missing taxi driver was found, and he was identified as Gaurav. Nayagaon station house officer (SHO) inspector Kulwant Singh said, “The car, a Maruti S-Presso, bore a yellow number plate and was registered to Punjab. We were able to identify the driver from his Aadhaar Card. The owner of the vehicle, Rakesh Kumar, said two occupants, including a woman, Pooja, were in the car.”
After the water receded, the car was pulled out of the rivulet. “The vehicle was completely damaged. There was no trace of the occupants, though we searched for them for a few miles.”
The owner of the taxi told the police that Gaurav had called him saying two people, travelling to Baddi, had booked his cab.
Meanwhile, severe waterlogging was seen in several areas of Mohali, with Phase 4, 5, 3B2, Phase-7, 11, Sector 70, and Sector 71 being the worst hit. At many places, residents had to call the fire tenders to pump out water from streets. In Phases 4, 5,7, and 11, water entered houses and in Phase 2, a tree fell on a car damaging it. Traffic snarls were also the order of the day at several places.
Mayor Amarjeet Singh Sidhu and deputy mayor Kuljeet Singh Bedi were seen making rounds of streets and issuing directions to the officials.
Sidhu said, “We are installing 10 pumping sets in the worst-affected areas. They will not be removed till monsoon is over. We also held meeting with officers concerned to find a permanent solution for waterlogging.”
Bedi said, “Due to construction work on airport road, the flow of stormwater is not smooth. We are working on it, so the water can be drained out through Patiala Ki Rao, a seasonal stream that originates in the Shivalik Hills.”
Former SAD councillor Surinder Singh said, “The civic body’s tall claims regarding tackling waterlogging have been exposed as in most phases and sectors rainwater entered houses.” Even in Aerocity, waterlogging was witnessed in several vacant plots.
Vinod Sharma, president of the Aerocity Welfare Society, said, “On one hand, the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority(GMADA) is fining people for non-construction, and on the other hand, it is not carrying out maintenance work. Water can be seen accumulated in most vacant plots.”
