Rains in Chandigarh bring relief from dust, pollution
Chandigarh, June 16 : Chandigarh and its nearby areas in Punjab and Haryana were lashed by rains, bringing much relief from a thick haze of dust and pollution that enveloped the region for the past two days, the weather office said on Saturday.
The weather turned pleasant and the visibility cleared following the overnight rainfall, which lasted for around two hours. However, the sky remained overcast with chances of more showers later in the day.
In the past two days, Chandigarh and surrounding areas witnessed a dusty weather throughout the day with poor visibility that led to grounding of 27 of the 30 flights from here.
The local meteorological office said the city experienced 21.6 mm of rain till 8.30 a.m. on Saturday and the minimum temperature was 23.5 degrees Celsius.
Chandigarh saw the highest ever concentration of PM2.5, a fine pollutant that can reach the lungs directly.
A Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee observatory measured PM2.5 at 572 microgram per cubic metre of air on an average on Friday morning. On Thursday, it was 360 microgram per cubic metre.
The normal value of PM2.5 is 60 microgram per cubic metre for a 24-hour period. Experts at the observatory said it was the highest ever in the city.
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Commuters bear brunt as labour union protest halts traffic at Delhi-Noida border
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New Delhi (PTI): Commuters faced a harrowing morning on Monday as a massive traffic jam brought vehicular movement to a near standstill at the Delhi-Noida border following a protest by a labour union demanding a salary hike.
The protest, which began early in the day, led to congestion on key arterial roads connecting Delhi and Noida, including NH 9, severely disrupting the office rush hour.
Long queues of vehicles were seen stretching for several kilometres, with many commuters stranded for hours.
A police source said that members of the labour union from Uttar Pradesh gathered near the border area were staging a demonstration, blocking portions of the road and slowing down traffic movement.
"Personnel from the Delhi Police and Noida Police were deployed to manage the situation and divert traffic, but the heavy volume of vehicles compounded the chaos," the source said.
Frustrated commuters took to social media platform X, urging authorities to intervene and clear the roads. Many complained of being stuck in unmoving traffic despite starting early to avoid peak-hour congestion.
An employee of a private company said she left her home at around 7:30 am but remained stuck in traffic for over an hour without any significant movement.
"There is no movement at all. People are getting down from vehicles and trying to figure out what's happening ahead," she said.
Authorities said efforts were underway to clear the congestion and restore smooth traffic flow as soon as possible.
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