12 killed as rain fury lashes UP

At least 12 people were killed, including eight children in incidents of wall collapses following heavy rains in Etawah, Kanpur Dehat and Banda districts in Uttar Pradesh, persons in the know of the developments said on Thursday

At least 12 people were killed, including eight children in incidents of wall collapses following heavy rains in Etawah, Kanpur Dehat and Banda districts in Uttar Pradesh, persons in the know of the developments said on Thursday.

Partially submerged vehicles in a locality in Firozabad. (ANI)

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath expressed condolence over the deaths.The CM instructed the officials to give a relief amount of ₹4 lakh from the disaster relief fund to the kin of those killed in these incidents and to provide proper treatment to the injured persons.

In two separate incidents, seven children died in Etawah, said the officials.

Four siblings were killed and two others were injured after a wall of their house collapsed due to heavy rain in the Raja ka Bagh area, Civil Lines. The deceased, were identified as Sinku (10), Abhi (8), Sonu (7), Aarti (5) while the fifth kid Rishabh (4) and their grandmother Sharda Devi, 75, were seriously injured and were rushed to the district’s Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Government Joint Hospital.

In another incident, three children identified as Aliya (7), eight-month-old Aahil, and Subhan (13) were killed when the wall of their house collapsed in Ghatia Azmat Ali area of Etawah, said officials.

A man and his wife were killed in Ikdil area when the wall of their hut came down due to the rain, said officials. The deceased were identified as Ram Sanehi (70) and his wife, Reshma Devi (65). In Bakewar area, 50-year-old Jabar Singh was killed when the roof of the house caved in.

Etawah district magistrate Avnish Rai said, “The kin of those killed will be given a compensation of ₹4 lakh each and a house under the CM Awas Yojana in case the house they lived in was damaged.”

In Kanpur Dehat, Sajjan Kumar (12) was killed in Kyontara village of Satti, in a wall collapse incident. His parents Harish Chandra (50) and Anita (48) were injured and are admitted to a local hospital. A 45-year-old farmer was killed in Marka village in Banda district after the thatched roof of his house came down due to the heavy rains.

Meanwhile, overflowing drains and a nearby pond led to the collapse of the rear wall of a fire station, submerging the station in Auraiya.

Auraiya superintendent of police Charu Nigam said, “Efforts are underway to drain the water”.

In another development, six people were feared dead in Agra and Aligarh division, including three in Firozabad, two in Kasganj and one in Agra, on Thursday, though an official confirmation was awaited.

Four others were reported to be injured due to lightning in Mainpuri area.

The Aligarh administration also closed schools in the district for two days while the army had to reschedule the ‘Aginveer Rally’ to October 10. Chief minister’s visit to Mathura was also called off because of the rains.

Agra received 62.4 mm rain in the duration of 24 hours from 8.30 am on Wednesday to 8.30 am on Thursday, said officials.