Rains lash western Uttar Pradesh; 33 dead, 23 injured

LUCKNOW: Heavy and incessant rains across a number of districts, especially in Brij region and western UP on Thursday, claimed 33 lives and left 23 people injured as roads caved in and four buildings collapsed. While most deaths took place due to the rain, one person died after being struck by lightning in Pratapgarh while nine persons were killed in four cases of building collapse.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials concerned to carry out rescue and relief measures on a war footing saying that he would monitor the situation personally. According to Relief Commissioner Sanjay Kumar, reports of 33 deaths had been received from across 18 districts in the state.

“The highest number of deaths have taken place in Agra where six persons died due to heavy showers. Four deaths were reported each in Mainpuri and Meerut. Three deaths each were reported from Muzaffarnagar and Kasganj. Two persons died in Bareilly while Kanpur Dehat, Mathura, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Jhansi, Rae Bareli, Jalon, Jaunpur, Ghaziabad and Pratapgarh reported one death each,” he said.

As per government sources, Yogi has announced financial assistance to the next kin of victims immediately. Directives have been issued to rescue people and repair infrastructure.