Thundershowers bring cheer in Delhi, chaos and carnage in Uttar Pradesh

Even as NCR saw a significant dip in temperatures, reports of loss of life and damage to property due to heavy rain emerged from several parts of UP.
New Delhi: Residents of the National Capital Region got some much-awaited respite from soaring temperatures on Wednesday evening as lightning and thundershowers brought down the mercury by several notches. The same rain though brought misery in several other parts of north India and there were reports of loss of life and to property – especially in UP and Rajasthan.
Delhi received 13.4mm rain by 1930hrs with temperatures dropping by almost 14-degree celsius. The Met department said easterly winds coming in from Bihar, UP and Punjab resulted in rainfall in almost all parts of the city. Even Gurgaon and Noida registered decent amount of rainfall which was welcomed by locals – especially because the temperature had hovered around the 40C mark in the last few days. What made it even better for citizens was that barring a few stray incidents, traffic was moderate and quite unaffected by the rains and the dust storm that had preceded it.
While the Met department has predicted light rain for Thursday and Friday, the celebrations though does not extend to many other parts of north India. While farmers in UP and Uttarakhand have been reporting damage to crops due to the unseasonal rainfall, Wednesday’s weather change caused several tragedies in areas like Agra, Saharanpur and Pilibhit. As many as 41 deaths have been reported in the state.
Local reports from Agra said that there was damage to property due to high winds and heavy rain in the district. A wall of an educational institute here collapsed which resulted in 23 deaths and left another 21 injured. There have also been reports of farm animals dying due to the sudden showers. In Pilibhit – some 250 kilometres from Lucknow – fire caused possibly by lightening spread rapidly and killed several cows and engulfed a number of villages on Wednesday night.
In Saharanpur, an innocent life was lost when a tree fell on an eight-year-old girl due to high wind speeds.
Farmers too have reported damage to crops in several states and with the Met department warning of more rain, are preparing to take remedial measures.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath has, meanwhile, instructed district officials to provide relief and aid to all those affected by Wednesday’s thundershowers.
Rajasthan too has borne the brunt of the dust storm which left 22 dead and more than 100 injured. News agency ANI reported that several electricity poles and trees were uprooted, and that local authorities have begun rescue, relief and repair operations.