16 die in rain-battered UP, more downpour predicted
LUCKNOW: Sixteen people have died and 12 injured in rain-related incidents across Uttar Pradesh in the last 24 hours, officials said on Sunday. The meteorological department has predicted widespread rainfall for eastern and western parts of the state for the next two days.
The air force was pressed into rescue operations and evacuated 14 people from the state’s rainbattered Lalitpur and Jhansi districts on Sunday.
In an official statement from Lucknow, chief minister Yogi Adityanath praised the rescue work carried out by IAF personnel.
Shahjahanpur district bore the maximum brunt of the weather’s onslaught, as six people, including four children, were killed in lightning strike, while seven were injured on Saturday.
Confirming the deaths, state relief commissioner, Sanjay Kumar, in an official statement said: “Six people lost their lives in Shahjahanpur, while three died in Sitapur district of the state.”
“Two people died each in Auraiyya and Amethi. One person died each in Lakhimpur Khiri, Rae Bareli and Unnao. All the deaths took place on Saturday,” it added.
So far, 18 animals have died in the state and as many as 461 houses/huts were also damaged, the statement said.
Shahjahanpur district magistrate Amrit Tripathi announced a financial assistance of ₹4 lakh to the kin of the deceased.
ASSAM BATTLES FRESH WAVE OF FLOOD
Another wave of flood has hit Assam, inundating four districts and affecting over 12,000 people ,while the Brahmaputra and its tributaries are flowing above the danger level, an official report said here Sunday.
A total of 676 hectares of farm land in Dhemaji, Biswanath, Golaghat and Sivasagar districts has also been submerged in the third wave of flood this season, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) report said.
The deluge affected 12,428 people in 48 villages of these four districts.
No death was reported during the fresh wave of floods, though the previous two had claimed 50 lives, the ASDMA said. Two relief camps have been set up in Biswanath and Golaghat districts.
ODISHA LIKELY TO BATTLE MORE RAIN
Rain-hit Odisha is likely to be lashed by more showers over the next two days with the possibility of heavy downpour in some places, the Met office said Sunday.
Rain and thundershower are likely to occur at many places over north Odisha and at a few places over southern region of the state till Tuesday, it said.
Most parts of the state have been battered by widespread rainfall for over a month owing to the formation of a series of low pressure in the region.