Chandigarh, July 6 (IANS) Moderate to heavy rainfall lashed most parts of Punjab, Haryana and joint capital Chandigarh Tuesday morning, paralysing normal life. The weather office said rains would continue for the next two to three days in the region.

‘The rains started Monday night and continued without a break. We are expecting more rains in the next 24 to 36 hours. It would further bring down the mercury in this region,’ said a senior meteorological department official here.

‘Yesterday (Monday), Chandigarh recorded a maximum temperature of 29.4 degrees Celsius, six notches below normal. Similarly, most parts of Punjab and Haryana also saw a dip of three to four degrees in mercury,’ he said.

Chandigarh received 86.8 mm rainfall till 8.30 a.m. Tuesday. Rainfall in Haryana’s Ambala city was 190.6 mm and in Punjab’s Patiala city it was 90.5 mm.

According to met officials, monsoon arrived in this part of northern India Monday. In 2009, it had hit the region June 30.

Due to rampant rainfall, various parts of Chandigarh and Punjab faced problems as water logging led to traffic jams and hit normal life in the region.