Lucknow, June 14 (UNI) At least 20 people were killed while 35 others injured after thunderstorm lashed Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday night, official sources said here.
The thunderstorm claimed six lives in Sitapur, followed by four each in Ambedkarnagar and Gonda, two each in Kannauj and Kaushambi and one each in Faizabad and Hardoi. As many as 17 were injured in Sitapur, 11 in Faizabad and seven in Gonda.
Most of the deaths were caused as the houses collapsed.
A report from Sitapur said that a part of mosque collapsed during the storms in Biswa area in which an elderly person was killed. Besides, in Sadarpur, a teenager girl and her mother were killed in a house collapse. Three other deaths were also reported from other parts of the district.
In Gonda, four people, comprising two girls and two senior citizens, were killed in Nababganj and Khargupur area in house collapses.
In Ambedkarnagar, four people were killed when tree collapsed on them in two different incidents at Hansawar and Jalalpur area.
In Faizabad, Divisional Commissioner Manoj Mishra said that one person was killed in Mumtaznagar area. In Ayodhya, an old banyan tree was uprooted in the disputed area.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the districts concerned to immediately provide relief to the affected families and distribute compensation as per the government rules.
As per the rule, the state government provides Rs 4 lakh as compensation to the family of the deceased.
Weather office has forecast more thunderstorms in different parts of the state in the next 24 hours.
It has also predicted that monsoon in the state, which reaches by June 15, is likely to be delayed by a couple of days.
UNI MB SV 1216