30 persons killed as heavy rains lash Uttar Pradesh; rescue operations underway to aid people stuck in flooded areas

Lucknow: As many as 30 people were killed as heavy rains wreaked havoc in different parts of Uttar Pradesh, an official said on Friday. Thundershowers are likely to continue at many places across the state, the meteorological (MeT) department said. [caption id=“attachment_4121829” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] While five people died in Agra, four deaths were reported in Mainpuri, three each in Muzaffarnagar and Kasganj, two each in Meerut and Bareilly and one each in Kanpur Dehat, Mathura, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Jhansi, Rae Bareli, Jalaun and Jaunpur , the government spokesperson said. Three deaths were reported from Saharanpur on Friday, Superintendent of Police from Saharanpur  Vidya Sagar Mishra said. As many as 12 others were injured in different parts of the state, the spokesperson said. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials to launch relief and rescue work on a war footing and asked district magistrates of the affected areas to immediately provide necessary monetary help, as per the rules, in cases of house collapse. Directions were also issued for taking all necessary steps to ensure proper treatment to the injured as the chief minister warned officials that no laxity will be tolerated in relief works. The MeT office said southwest monsoon was “active” over east Uttar Pradesh and “vigorous” over the western part of the state causing moderate to heavy rain and thundershowers at most places. According to officials, chief amount of rainfall recorded in cm were- Mathura- 19, Kasganj- 18, Aligarh- 13, Gautam Buadh Nagar- 10, Barabanki, Badaun, Saharanpur, Firozabad- 9 each, Ravidas Nagar and Gorakhpur- 8 each.