12 more deaths in UP, 24 die in rain-related incidents since Wednesday

Twelve more people died in incidents of wall and house collapse in Uttar Pradesh taking the death toll due to heavy rain in recent days to 24, officials said on Friday.

The first house collapse was reported on Wednesday. Till Thursday, 12 deaths due to rain-related incidents took place in the state, officials said.

Incidents of wall and house collapse were reported from Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, Amethi and Sultanpur districts leading to loss of 12 more lives, officials said on Friday.

Three people, including a woman and her two children, were killed when their 'kutcha' house collapsed in Karhi village under Mau Police Station area of Chitrakoot district on Friday evening, they said.

Yashoda (25), her son Rishi (5) and daughter Richa (3) were buried under the debris of the house, SHO of Mau Police Station Gulab Tripathi said.

In Pratapgarh, seven people, including a child, died in house and wall collapses due to heavy rains in the last 24 hours, officials said.

Amit (4) and Om Prakash (50) died in separate villages under Antu Police Station area in the district due to wall collapses amid incessant rains on Thursday, police said.

Kalika (80), hailing from a village under Sagipur Police Station area, Kalawati (65) in Kohdaur Police Station area, Chamela Devi (54) and Kusum Maurya (25) in different villages under Kotwali Patti Police Station area, and Amarjit Singh (65) in a village under Udaypur area died in similar incidents of wall and house collapses, police said.

In Amethi's Madhupur Khadri village under Sangrampur Police Station area, Gayadin (52) was cleaning the drain when the wall of his 'kutcha' house collapsed on him leading to his death, SDM Amethi, Mahatma Singh said.

In a similar incident in Sadarpur village under Chanda Kotwali area of Sultanpur, Surajpal (55) was killed when a wall collapsed on him on Thursday night, police said.

There are reports of some other houses collapsing due to the ongoing incessant rains since the last 72 hours in some other parts of the district and detailed information was being gathered, police said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday reviewed the situation arising out of excessive rainfall in the state and directed officials to carry out prompt relief works and extend immediate help to the affected persons.

In a meeting with senior officials, the chief minister directed for making immediate drainage arrangements in waterlogged localities both in the urban and rural areas besides all necessary arrangements to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, a state government spokesperson said.

The chief minister directed the officials of the health department to maintain the availability of all essential medicines and staff, including doctors, paramedics in primary/community health centres and district hospitals, while ensuring fogging and anti-larva spray in urban and rural areas.

He also instructed for extending permissible financial assistance to the affected persons promptly, the spokesperson said.

In view of the continued rains, Adityanath had on Thursday directed the closure of all educational institutions, including schools and colleges, for two days on September 17 and 18.

The schools will now reopen on Monday.

According to the Met office, heavy rainfall has been reported from Azamgarh, Ayodhya, Sitapur, Barabanki, Kannauj, Lucknow, Ambedkar Nagar, Gonda,Basti, Bahraich, Unnao, Gorakhpur, Kanpur Dehat , Etawah, Allahabad, Farrukhabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Amethi, Sant Kabirnagar, Siddharthnagar, Pratapgarh and Sonbhadra.

More showers are likely to lash few places in eastern and western Uttar Pradesh on Saturday and Sunday.