DUST STORM THROWS A SCARE INTO AGRA RESIDENTS

AGRA: In view of the weather alert issued by the district administration, even the mild storm which hit the city on Sunday evening caused a lot of panic.

Though rain was reported in the nearby areas, the weather in the Taj city became normal soon but threw a scare into the citizens.

To note, the district has already weathered two devastating thunderstorm within 20 days, the first on April 11, claiming 15 lives followed by another on May 2 which claimed 48 lives besides causing extensive damage to houses, electricity poles and trees.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny but suddenly the weather changed in Mathura where it began raining from 4 pm. Within half an hour, a similar change was seen in Agra and Firozabad too, as a dust storm caused a scare and petty shopkeepers and vendors began closing down.

There was a hailstorm for some time in outer areas, including Khandoli, as well as in the nearby districts of Firozabad and Mathura.

However, there were no reports of any damage. Rather, the weather became pleasant, with the dip in temperature.

Agra Police too got alert on Sunday evening and issued guidelines mentioning do’ and dont’s during thunderstorm, as advised by the National Disaster Response Force, for community awareness.

“The wind moved at 65 kilometres per hour on Sunday evening and the dust storm lasted for a short duration. It was in fact a ‘gale’, wind blowing with speed and bringing down the temperature,” said official sources in the met department.