Heavy rain, lightning kill 19 in Uttar Pradesh; schools shut in some districts
NDRF and SDRF teams have been deployed in some districts and have been put on high alert
Nineteen people were killed in the past 24 hours as rain lashed Uttar Pradesh, disrupting normal life, particularly in the state’s central region and forcing schools in some places to shut for a day, authorities said Monday evening.
Roof collapses, cases of drowning and deaths due to lightning were reported in parts of the state. Some localities in Lucknow faced waterlogging. In Barabanki, rail tracks were flooded.
Four deaths were reported from Hardoi, three from Barabanki, two each from Pratapgarh and Kannauj, and one each from Amethi, Deoria, Jalaun, Kanpur, Unnao, Sambhal, Rampur and Muzaffarnagar districts, it said.
In 22 districts of the state, there have been over 40 mm rain in the last 24 hours including Moradabad, Sambhal, Kannauj, Rampur, Hathras, Barabanki, Kasganj, Bijnor, Amroha, Bahraich, Lucknow, Badaun, Mainpuri, Hardoi, Firozabad, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Kanpur, Sitapur Farrukhabad, Lakhimpur Kheri and Fatehpur.
According to the MET department forecast, heavy rains are likely in the eastern region till September 14 while light rains will continue till September 17, the official of the relief commissioner office said.
The western region of the state is also likely to get rains and showers till September 17, though there is an alert for lightning over the state till September 15.
The official of the relief commissioner's office said as many as 19 tehsils of 10 districts have been affected by flood in Ballia, Barabanki, Badaun, Farrukhabad, Kasganj, Kheri, Kushinagar, Mau, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar districts. According to the official, 173 villages and a population of 55,982 have been affected.
Shelter homes have been set up but no one has been shifted there and the NDRF and SDRF teams have been deployed in some districts and have been put on high alert, the official said.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has instructed the officials of the affected districts to undertake relief works with full promptness, according to an official spokesperson.
Meanwhile, alleging corruption in the budget meant for ‘smart cities’, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said waterlogging in Lucknow has exposed the tall promises of the BJP government. “The BJP has betrayed the people of the state in the name of smart cities and there was massive corruption in the scheme,” he alleged.
(With agency inputs)
