Schools are closed as heavy rains cause havoc in Uttar Pradesh, killing 19 people

Authorities said Monday evening that 19 people had died in the previous 24 hours as heavy rains pounded Uttar Pradesh, disrupting daily life, especially in the state’s central area and causing several schools to close for a day.

In several areas of the state, there have been reports of lightning-related fatalities, drowning incidents, and collapsed roofs. The capital city of Lucknow experienced waterlogging in certain areas. Rail lines were inundated in Barabanki.

According to the report, there were four fatalities recorded from Hardoi, three from Barabanki, two from Pratapgarh and one from each of Kannauj, Amethi, Deoria, Jalaun, Kanpur, Unnao, Sambhal, and Muzaffarnagar districts.

Two brothers from Kannauj, Kallu (13) and Avnish (17), perished on Sunday when their thatched roof in the Tirwa area’s Lalkiyapur hamlet fell due to heavy rainfall, according to Naib Tehsildar Ratnesh Kumar.

Deepika (age 28) passed away in the Muzaffarnagar district when her home’s roof in the Rahmatpur village in the Bhopa region collapsed yesterday night, while her mother-in-law suffered critical wounds, according to Sub-Divisional Magistrate Subodh Kumar, who spoke to PTI on Monday.

Divya Chauhan, age 9, drowned in the region of Deoria while having a bath in a stream that was overflowing, according to authorities on Monday.

In 22 districts of the state, there have been over 40 mm rain in the last 24 hours including Moradabad, Sambhal, Kannauj, Rampur, Hathras, Barabanki, Kasganj, Bijnor, Amroha, Bahraich, Lucknow, Badaun, Mainpuri, Hardoi, Firozabad, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Kanpur, Sitapur Farrukhabad, Lakhimpur Kheri and Fatehpur.

Akhilesh Yadav, the president of the Samajwadi Party, said on Monday that corruption in the budget for “smart cities” had revealed the BJP government’s empty promises by exposing the flooding in Lucknow.

“In the guise of smart cities, the BJP has misled the state’s citizens. The situation is evident as a result of corruption and looting in the funding for the plan, he said.

“The state capital Lucknow and other cities are facing waterlogging, and many colonies are submerged in water and drains are overflowing,” Yadav said in a statement released today.

The official of the relief commissioner office said that the MET department’s prediction indicated that heavy rains are probable in the eastern area until September 14 and that moderate rains would continue until September 17.

Although there is a lightning warning in effect for the state until September 15, the western area of the state is also predicted to have rain and showers until September 17.

As water accumulated on the railroad lines at Barabanki, the passage of trains was hampered. A passenger train was temporarily stopped at the outside, but subsequently the trains were permitted to pass extremely slowly, according to a railway official. On a directive from the authorities, schools in the state capital are still shuttered.

Due to the threat of strong lightning, Lucknow’s District Magistrate Surya Pal Gangwar ordered the closure of all schools and issued a warning to the public not to go outside needlessly.

In Lucknow, every district-level official is out in the field assessing the issues brought on by the rain. The DM said that an urgent investigation is being conducted into the issue of water logging in various areas of the state capital and that 99.9 mm of rain fell on the previous day as of 8 am on Monday.

In addition to visiting these areas, cow shelters are also being inspected, and arrangements are being reviewed to ensure their security, a district official said. Municipal Corporation teams in urban areas and subdivisional magistrate-led teams in rural areas are on the ground and resolving people’s problems, the official added.

When a section of a major road collapsed due to heavy rains, senior authorities hurried to the scene to make plans for diverting traffic in the bustling Gomti Nagar neighborhood. The traffic diversion was put into place to ensure that cars could drive without delay, the district official said.

In Lakhimpur Kheri, all eight tehsil regions saw torrential downpours, which led District Magistrate Mahendra Bahadur Singh to order the closure of all schools through class 8.

The Nipun Assessment Test (NAT), which was supposed to be held on Monday and Tuesday among all government-run primary and upper primary schools, had to be postponed due to waterlogging in several urban and rural areas caused by nonstop rain since Sunday night, according to Lakhimpur Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Pravin Tiwari.

The BSA said that on September 11th, “the NAT examination in all basic schools would remain suspended.”

140 sheep were killed by lightning strikes in Unnao’s Hasanganj tehsil, according to SDM Hasanganj Naveen Chandra.

According to a representative of the relief commissioner’s office, floods in the districts of Ballia, Barabanki, Badaun, Farrukhabad, Kasganj, Kheri, Kushinagar, Mau, Meerut, and Muzaffarnagar have devastated as many as 19 tehsils across 10 districts.

The official reports that a total of 173 communities and 55,982 people have been impacted.

A growing tendency has been seen in the Son River near Mirzapur (Bansagar dam) and the Ganga in Bijnor, neither of which are currently running beyond the danger threshold in the state.

According to a spokeswoman for the government, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the authorities of the affected areas to start relief efforts as soon as possible.

The source quoted the CM as saying that the crop loss should be evaluated, and the report should be sent to the government so that compensation may be given to the affected farmers in accordance with the law.

The NDRF and SDRF teams have been deployed in several areas and are on high alert, but no one has yet been relocated to the shelter houses, the official added.

According to the official, lunch packs and food grains are being given out, while medical camps and animal immunization programs are operating.

The official said that attempts are being made to clean the waterlogged regions in urban areas and that any potential damages to agriculture are being assessed.