Monsoon rains triggered house collapses and inundated a wide swath of land in Uttar Pradesh, killing 19 persons during the last 24 hours even as Met officials predicted more rains in the next 48 hours across the state.
On Sunday morning, Indian Air Force helicopters rescued six people who were stranded in a marooned village in Telbehat tehsil of lalitpur district. The area was marooned after a heavy downpour.
The MI 17 Air Force rescue helicopters were sent from Gwalior for rescue operation, government spokesman Awanish Awasthi said in a statement.
The government spokesman said that 19 people had died since the rains started on Friday night. Maximum deaths have been reported from Shahjahanpur, where six people died after being struck by lightning on Saturday.
In the neighbouring Sitapur district, four people died in house collapse incidents.
“Two people died each in Auraiya and Amethi. Two died in Bahraich, one person each died in lakhimpur Kheri, Rae Bareli and Unnao,” the official said.
District Magistrate of Shahjahanpur, Amrit Tripathi, said four persons died when lightning struck them while they were grazing cattle in Shasherpur village. Among the dead, three were children in the age group of 5-10 years.
The sub-divisional magistrate has been asked to probe the incident and provide relief to the families of the victims as per government guidelines.
Sixteen other people were injured in house collapse incidents and by lightning, the official said.
The Met officials have predicted more rains in the next 48 hours.
“There is low air pressure over eastern Uttar Pradesh and it is moving northward. Similar pressure areas exist over the Bay of Bengal. Under these circumstances, heavy rains are expected in the next couple of days,” the Met official said.
The state government has directed the district officials of the affected-areas to immediately provide necessary monetary help in cases of house collapse or any other eventuality. Directions have also been issued to take necessary steps to ensure proper treatment of the injured. The government has warned that no laxity will be tolerated in relief works.