category Regional, chandigarh, , tags Regional, chandigarh, , DW BUREAU Chandigarh Rains battered many parts of Punjab and Haryana for the third consecutive day on Monday causing flooding at many places, as authorities scrambled to lead rescue operations to shift people to safer places. The Punjab government ordered the closure of schools in the state till July 13 in view of the prevailing situation. According to the meteorological department, it has been raining in many parts of Punjab and Haryana since morning. Chandigarh also witnessed a record rainfall during the past three days, and a few roads were filled with rainwater. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann appealed to people not to panic as heavy rains caused flooding at some places in the state. In a tweet in Punjabi, Mann, who is visiting flood-affected areas in Mohali and Rupnagar districts, said the government is with the people and all possible help will be provided to them. Mann later told reporters that all his ministers and MLAs as well as officials are on the ground and with people in this hour of crisis. Due to continuous rains in the state and keeping in view the safety of students, the government ordered shutting of all schools till July 13 with immediate effect, Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains tweeted. Earlier, schools were ordered to be closed in some of the worst-hit districts in Punjab and Haryana. Mohali, Patiala, Rupnagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Panchkula and Ambala are some of the worst-hit districts in the two states. In view of the prevailing situation caused due to incessant rains, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar cancelled all his pre-scheduled programmes for the day and summoned an emergency meeting of senior officials of various departments. He took stock of the situation with senior officials in the meeting in which Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal was also present. Khattar also spoke with his Himachal Pradesh counterpart Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu after reports that some Haryana residents were stranded in Manali. He was informed that all were safe. At some places in the two states, the authorities launched rescue operations evacuating people and shifting them to safer places in view of the floodwaters entering the residential areas. The Haryana government also issued an advisory for general public asking them to take precautions and only venture out when it is necessary. Army s assistance was sought by the Patiala district administration in Punjab after water overflowed from the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal in Rajpura town following a breach. The Army has been put on alert in some other parts of Punjab, officials said. In Rajpura, water entered a private hospital and the patients were shifted to two other hospitals, they said. In some places in Punjab, there were breaches in distributaries and minor canals. Fields were inundated at many places in Punjab and parts of Haryana causing crop damage. Tracts of land near Sutlej and Ghaggar rivers were inundated. At some places in Punjab and Haryana, water gushed into houses, and at a few places, people were evacuated to safer places. The heavy monsoon downpour continued to lead to traffic snarls on key road stretches in the two states, the officials said. In Patiala, the floodwaters entered the premises of the Rajpura Thermal Power Plant on Monday, leading to the shutdown of one of its 700 MW units, officials said. The Punjab government requested additional assistance from the Army to combat the escalating crisis. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams were also deployed at some places in the two states. Patiala Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said the floodwaters had breached the premises of a private hospital in Rajpura on Sunday, necessitating the rescue and relocation of patients to other hospitals. Additionally, approximately 800 students from a private university in the district were successfully rescued with the assistance of the Army. (editor dailyworld.in)