Storm fury: 1 killed in roof collapse, 80 trees, poles uprooted across NCR

Gusty winds swept across Gurugram at a speed of 40-60 km/hour and were accompanied by thunderstorm. The aftermath of the storm resulted in prolonged power outages lasting over six to eight hours in various areas of the city, including Sushant Lok 1

A four-year-old boy was killed and five people, including two children, were injured in Ghaziabad on Friday night when the under-construction portion of a multi-storeyed house collapsed on adjacent houses after high velocity winds and a dust storm hit parts of the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR).

At least 15 vehicles were damaged, 80 trees and 30 electric poles were uprooted in different areas in Gurugram after a thunderstorm wreaked havoc in the city leaving a trail of destruction on Friday night. (Parveen Kumar/HT PHOTO)

The incident took place in Sudamapuri when the under-construction portion of the fourth floor of a house collapsed during the dust storm and debris fell on the roof of two neighbouring houses. “There was a big hole in the roof and five people, including two children, who were sleeping were buried under the debris. My brother, Amit Kumar, 24, his wife Radha, 23, and their two sons – Shiv Kumar aged four, and a five-month-old child, and Amit’s younger brother Monu, all sustained injuries. But Shiv sustained major internal injuries. He was taken to hospital but died during treatment late Friday night,” said Vimlesh Kumar, Amit’s cousin.

A part of the debris from the under-construction house also fell on another house, injuring a 16-year-old girl, Keemti. “My sister suffered injuries to her hands,” said Sonam Kumari, Keemti’s younger sister. Kumar added that the owner of the under-construction house fled the scene after the collapse.

Police said that they have received a complaint from Kumar’s family against the owner of the under-construction house. “The complainant has alleged that careless construction activity by Rajesh Chauhan led to the incident and resulted in the death of a child. We have taken the complaint and are registering a first information report under appropriate Indian Penal Code sections,” said Poonam Mishra, assistant commissioner of police, Wave City circle.

Gurugram

At least 15 vehicles were damaged, 80 trees and 30 electric poles were uprooted in different areas in Gurugram after thunderstorm wreaked havoc in the city leaving a trail of destruction on Friday night. However, no casualty was reported, officials aware of the matter said on Saturday.

Gusty winds swept across Gurugram at a speed of 40-60 km/hour and were accompanied by thunderstorm. The aftermath of the storm resulted in prolonged power outages lasting over six to eight hours in various areas of the city, including Sushant Lok 1, they added.

Power supply hit

PK Chauhan, superintending engineer (operations), Gurugram circle 2, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), said that teams were sent to all the spots from where complaints were received. “Due to thunderstorm, poles were damaged in Sector 23, DLF City, Sushant Lok-1, South City-1 and Sector 31, following which power issues were reported from these areas. Most of the cases were resolved, only individual complaints are pending. Our teams are visiting each site to restore the electricity supply,” he said.

Nearly 35 poles were damaged in the city, Manesar and Pataudi area on Friday night and it took six hours to restore power supply in societies and industrial areas, said Shyambir Saini, superintending engineer, Circle-I. “The feeders were repaired and the poles were erected again. Almost 95% of the complaints were resolved, and the remaining pending cases will be addressed by Saturday night,” he said.

Gulshan Kalra, deputy director (technical), Haryana fire services, who also holds the charge of deputy director (technical) of the fire station at Sector 29, said that they received over 80 calls from residents about damaged cars, scooters and walls due to uprooted trees. “We sent vehicles to different areas to remove the trees and tried to erect the electric poles, which were affected on Friday night. We have cleared several roads blocked by uprooted trees,” he said.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast, partly cloudy sky will possibly prevail on Sunday as well and a thunderstorm could be in the offing. Following the thunderstorm on Friday night, the minimum temperature on Saturday was recorded at 24°C, and the maximum settled at 37°C.

Girish Gupta, a resident and member of RWA Sector 15 part 1, said that one car was damaged outside his house after a tree fell on it. “As soon as the thunderstorm hit our sector, electricity supply was disconnected and was resumed around 4 am on Saturday,” he said.

Cases of cars being damaged by uprooted trees were reported from several residential areas, including sectors 56, 57, Kapashera, Dwarka Expressway, Sohna Road, Golf Course Extension Road, Manesar, Palam Vihar and Badhshahpur, on Friday night.

Caught in the storm

Commuters also faced a harrowing time after getting caught in the middle of the storm. Ankit Lohan, a resident of Sector 37, said that he was on his way to Delhi to meet one of his relatives who was admitted in a hospital. “I was driving when the thunderstorm started, and visibility on the road became nearly zero. I narrowly avoided two accidents. Eventually, I parked my car and waited beneath the flyover to ensure my safety. But some unidentified vehicle rammed my vehicle from behind and fled. I waited for an hour and then returned home,” he said.

Another commuter, Mukesh Sharma, a resident of Sector 69, said that he was driving on Southern Peripheral Road and suddenly a plastic chair hit his car, followed by dustbins and other items. “I parked my car near an eatery. The bonnet was damaged and there were a lot of dents on the door. It was a scary experience,” he said.

Rajkumar Yadav, the president of Sector 46 RWA, said that more than 30 trees fell in the sector damaging properties and vehicles. “Trees even blocked roads, leading to traffic issues in the internal sector roads. Residents have incurred losses due to the natural calamity. The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) should have timely pruned the trees,” he said.

Another Gurugram resident also raised similar complaints and said that many trees need trimming in the area. But MCG neither carries out trimming activity proactively nor take steps even after filing complaints, the resident said on condition of anonymity.

On Saturday, a tree fell on the parked vehicle, belonging to a resident of Sector 45, thereby damaging the car glass and door.

Gautam Budh Nagar

Intermittent power outages were reported from Sectors 12, 19, 44, 50, 51, 55, 105, and 155, in Noida, on Friday night, with residents alleging that power cuts continued till Saturday afternoon.

Sector 51 residents said that four electric poles were uprooted in the area after the massive dust storm hit the city. District Development residents’ welfare association senior vice president Sanjeev Kumar, who is a resident of Sector 51, said, “There was no power supply in the C and H block of the sector overnight.” A Sector 41 resident said, “Since the storm hit last night, there was a power cut for more than nine hours.”

In Sector 58, several cars were damaged after a shuttering installed to repair a building collapsed on Friday.

Meanwhile, power department officials said that repair works were underway. “There have been instances of power outages in parts of Gautam Budh Nagar due to faults that occurred after massive storms last night. However, power supply has been restored at many locations while the situation is being constantly addressed in other affected areas,” said Rajeev Mohan, chief engineer, Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL), Gautam Budh Nagar.

“Around 300-400 trees were reportedly uprooted in various sectors on Friday night. Sector 122 witnessed the most incidents of uprooting of trees. However, most of the areas are cleared,” said Anand Mohan Singh, in-charge, horticulture, division II, Noida authority.