17 killed, 5 injured in UP rains

Seventeen more people were killed and five others injured in rain-related incidents in different parts of Uttar Pradesh since yesterday, officials said today.

According to reports, four people were killed in Lucknow, two each in Gonda, Banda and Kanpur, while one each died in Ambedkar Nagar, Shahjahanpur, Pilibhit, Mirzapur, Allahabad, Amethi and Azamgarh.

The toll has reached 180 since July 1, they said, adding most of the deaths occurred due to wall and house collapse, uprooting of trees, electrocution or caving in of land.

Moderate rain and thundershowers continued to occur at most places in the eastern parts and at few places over the western region of the state, while heavy to very heavy rain lashed isolated places, the Met office here said.

Mirzapur, Musafirkhana recorded rainfall of 14 mm each, followed by Bareilly (13), Barabanki, Rae Bareli (12 each), Lucknow, Allahabad and Jaunpur (11 each) and Pratapgarh (8).

"There appears to be no immediate respite from the rains for another one week though it is likely to be not as heavy," Met Director JP Gupta said.

According to Central Water Commission, most of the rivers in the state are in spate and a population of one lakh has been adversely hit in Gonda because of erosion in the embankment on the Ghaghra river.

The Ghaghra, the Sharda, the Sai and the Yamuna were flowing at dangerous levels at many places, it said.

The Ghaghra at Elgin Bridge in Barabanki and Ayodhya, the Sharda in Palia, the Sai in Rae Bareli and the Yamuna in Prayag ghat, Mathura have crossed the red mark, the report said.