Braving intense heat wave for weeks, people of Punjab and Haryana today got the much-needed respite as the mercury dropped considerably after the region received widespread rains.    

Meteorological Department here said that conditions were favourable for further advancement of the south-west monsoon into Punjab, Haryana including Chandigarh and HP by tomorrow.    

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Moderate to heavy rains lashed the region including Chandigarh (26.8 mm), Ambala (65 mm), Hisar (7.2 mm), Karnal (22.4 mm) Narnaul (18 mm), Rohtak (7.9 mm), Panchkula (5 mm), Gurgaon (7 mm), Sonepat (25 mm), Ludhiana (25.9 mm), Patiala (40 mm) and Amritsar (10 mm).    

The mercury, which had been hovering in the range of 40-45 degrees celsius in Punjab and Haryana witnessed a sharp decline today after the rains.    

The rains also brought cheers to the people including the farmers of the two agrarian states as persistent heat conditions prevailing in the region had the peasantry worried.    

With Punjab (5 mm) and Haryana (6 mm) receiving a meagre amount of rain from June 1-June 25 period, people in the region celebrated the arrival of rains.   

Many people in this city and elsewhere in the region, especially the children, came out of their houses and danced to welcome the rains which brought them relief from the heat wave.

The rainfall was also likely to ease the power crisis situation affecting the two states as there had been a sudden spurt in demand due to heat conditions.   

In Punjab, this year the demand had shot up from last year's 5850 megawatt to 8308 Mw while availability remained only 6083 Mw, according to official figures.    

Both Punjab and Haryana were reeling under acute power shortage, with authorities having to impose daily power cuts ranging between 8-12 hours.

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