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Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 03 May 2018
Lucknow/Jaipur: Heavy rains, hail storm, lightning and a spell of severe dust storm wreaked havoc in India's Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan on Wedensay, killing at least 70 people and leaving a trail of destruction in three more northern Indian states- Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tweeted on the storm that has affected several parts of the country.
Saddened by the loss of lives due to dust storms in various parts of India. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) May 3, 2018
Have asked officials to coordinate with the respective state governments and work towards assisting those who have been affected: PM
"Saddened by the loss of lives due to dust storms in various parts of India. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon.Have asked officials to coordinate with the respective state governments and work towards assisting those who have been affected," PM Modi tweeted.
The reports said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked officials to personally monitor relief work, provide medical aid to affected in the state.
Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje condoled the deaths and said in a series of tweets that she has directed ministers and officials in the affected areas to begin relief work and restore utilities.
Have directed Ministers and concerned officials to affected areas to begin relief work immediately and restore utilities. An unfortunate incident, we have been working closely with local authorities to mitigate the situation.
— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) May 3, 2018
According to local news outlet NDTV, 45 people died in Uttar Pradesh after heavy rains, hail storm and lightning struck western parts of the state-Agra being the worst hit accounting for 36 deaths.
Altogether 38 people were reportedly injured in the calamity. Bijnore, Saharanpur and Bareilly are the other badly affected districts of UP.
In Rajasthan, 27 people were killed and several injured after a powerful dust storm swept through the state. The storm uprooted trees and disrupted power supply in a vast area beyond the the state.
The Hindustan Times said Bharatpur suffered the maximum damage in Rajasthan in terms of loss to life as 16 people were killed in the district. Nine people died in neighbouring Dholpur in the high-speed dust storm that started around 7pm.
Most deaths were caused by house collapse due to the storm.
Normal life was also hit in many places in Punjab and Haryana, including Chandigarh, on Wednesday after a high-velocity dust storm. Light to moderate rains also lashed many places.
Image: twitter.com/DDNewsLive