Dust storm in India kills over 80 people

New Delhi : A powerful dust storm on Wednesday disturbed life in several part in India, majorly hitting north India. Over 80 people have reportedly been killed in accidents across different regions.

31 people die in Rajasthan

Dust storm in Rajasthan's Alwar, Dholpur and Bharatpur districts, killed 31 people and injured another 100, officials said.

The storm, which lashed at a speed of 100 km per hour on Wednesday night, uprooted trees, severed telephone, power and water supply links and brought down houses.

State Disaster Management Minister Gulabchand Kataria called an emergency meeting here and confirmed that 16 persons were killed in Bharatpur, 10 in Dhaulpur and five in Alwar.

For the first time in the state, a storm has been included under the category of natural disaster and funds to the tune of Rs 2.5 crore have been sanctioned for each district, Kataria said.

The exact level of damage in Alwar, Jhunjhunu and Bikaner was yet to be confirmed, said officials. 

Bharatpur's Additional District Magistrate O.P. Jain told IANS: "We are making all efforts to ensure that the injured are given medical aid. 

"We have prioritized restoration work so that drinking water and electricity get restored."

Dhaulpur Additional District Magistrate Harphool Yadav said 10 people in the district have lost their lives. "Quick response teams have been deployed since last night."

A senior official in Alwar told IANS that rescuers were still trying to reach out to people to know the exact level of damage. As phone connections have been severed, it is difficult to contact the interiors. 

Yadav said that some 200 people were stuck in village Lebdapura Basedi after their houses were gutted in a fire. 

Several electrical poles came down, disrupting power supply. The falling trees and electric poles caused the maximum accidents, leaving almost 100 people injured, Yadav said.

Both Bharatpur and Alwar were without power through the night.

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia tweeted to officers on Thursday to help the injured. 

"Distressed after storm in Alwar, Bharatpur and Dholpur. I have asked the district authorities to ensure every possible help to treat all the injured. My condolences to families of those who have lost their lives."

Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot put his birthday celebrations on hold Thursday in the wake of the disaster.

The Met department said the storm condition would continue till Saturday. It would be stormy in Jhunjhunu, Jaipur and Sikar on Thursday.

45 killed in Uttar Pradesh

As many as 45 people have been killed in a dust storm that hit many parts of Uttar Pradesh overnight, a government spokesman said on Thursday. Of these, 36 died in Agra alone.

More than three dozen persons have also been injured in the storm and the lightning that struck the state on Wednesday night. 

A total of 156 cattle died in different districts. 

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is campaigning for the BJP in Karnataka, has directed officials to ensure rescue and relief operations in the storm hit districts of Agra, Bijnore, Bareilly, Saharanpur, Pilibhit, Firozabad, Chitrakoot, Muzaffarnagar, Rae Bareli and Unnao.