Yogi Adityanath visits storm-affected villages in Uttar Pradesh, reviews arrangements to restore normalcy

Agra: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday visited the storm-affected villages, met the injured and survivors, and also presented cheques to the bereaved families, officials said. [caption id=“attachment_4457713” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. PTI[/caption] The chief minister cut short his Karnataka visit on Friday night and reached Agra to review arrangements being made to restore normalcy in the lives of people affected by the freak storm on Wednesday night. Talking to media persons, he reacted sharply to the Twitter comment of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, saying “they were insensitive people who had no shame”. On 3 May (Wednesday), Akhilesh took to Twitter to slam Adityanath for campaigning in Karnataka for the 12 May Assembly elections in the southern state, even as Uttar Pradesh was hit by a storm. Adityanath made an aerial survey of affected villages in a helicopter on Saturday. Local MPs and MLAs accompanied the chief minister during his visit to distant villages. The district administration has been instructed to defer collection of revenues and loans, till the conditions returned to normalcy. The state electricity board officials have been told to fix power lines and change poles immediately to avoid accidents. He also asked the district administration to involve local NGOs to provide facilities for the injured and the family members. At the SN Medical College in Agra, Adityanath met the injured children, consoled them and asked them to go to school after recovery. The principal of the medical college was asked to ensure there were no lapses and all got fair treatment. The chief minister then visited the district hospital to meet the injured. He said 800 electric poles had been damaged which resulted in disruption of power supply.