Fresh spate of storm in UP, 23 dead
Lucknow, May 14: Dust storm, hail and lightning have claimed as many as 23 lives in the last 12 hours in Uttar Pradesh, an official said on Monday.
The storm hit Etawah, Banda, Auriyya, Meerut, Kanpur rural, Kannauj, Farrukhabad and Orai districts.
Late on Sunday gusty winds, followed by dust storm had brought life to a standstill in many parts of the state. Many houses were razed to the ground, hoardings and trees uprooted and power outages reported from various cities and towns.
The relief commissioner's office, although, has confirmed only 18 deaths besides two dozen injuries in Sunday's dust storm.
District officials have been asked by Chief Minister Adityanath to ensure prompt relief, a government spokesman said.Due to the uprooting of trees, vehicular traffic on the busy G.T. road near Orai was disrupted for more than four hours.
A woman standing under a tree in Kannauj was killed as it fell on her while two persons have been reported dead from Barabanki.
Three deaths, including a child have been reported from Bulandshahr due to a wall collapse.
Five persons have been reported dead in Kasganj and one in the temple town of Vrindavan. Two persons died in Saharanpur after being struck with lightning.
One person died in Muzaffarnagar as he was hit by a tree branch when he was driving a bike.
One person was killed in Ghaziabad's Lalkuan area after a tree fell on a car and a six-year-old died in Hapur after falling in a tube well tank due to the squall.
A passerby was hit by a hoarding brought down by winds near the Stellar Jeevan Society in Noida and died while one woman was killed in Aligarh.
While one died in Sambhal, two persons were killed in Banjariya village when two minarets of a mosque were ripped off by high velocity winds and they fell on a house. One person was killed in Budaun.
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Protests in Jammu region over VDG killings, Kishtwar observes shutdown
Kishtwar/Jammu (PTI): There were sporadic protests in the Jammu region on Friday over the killings of two Village Defence Guards by terrorists the previous day, while a complete shutdown was observed in Kishtwar with demonstrations against Pakistan.
Security has been beefed up in Kishtwar district -- from where the two Village Defence Guards were abducted and killed -- as people came out in large numbers to give vent to their anger and demanded "immediate elimination" of the terrorists involved in the killings.
All shops and businesses were closed and traffic was off the road in the district, while there was thin attendance in schools and other educational institutions.
Protests were also reported from Kuntwara, Thakurie, Paddar and other areas early this morning, with slogans of ''Pakistan Murdabad'' being raised and a sit-in on the roads.
Terrorists killed two VDGs after abducting them in the higher reaches of the Kishtwar district. Jaish-e-Mohammad offshoot Kashmir Tigers has claimed responsibility for the attack. A massive joint search operation is underway by police and the Army in the dense forest area following the brutal killings.
As the news spread about the killings, hundreds gathered in the Drabshalla area of the district Thursday morning, chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', and burning tyres and blocking roads. They also raised slogans against Pakistan and terrorists.
In the Kishtwar town, a women-led protest march was organised by the Sanatan Dharam Sabha. hey sat on a dharna at the main chowk, burning tyres and the Pakistani flag.
"We want decisive action against Pakistan, its terrorists and its ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir. There should be massive crackdown to eradicate terrorists and its supporters," said Satoshi Devi, one of the protestors.
Drabshalla resident Kuldeep Singh said, "This kind of incident has not happened in this area for a long time. The victims were grazing their cattle when terrorists kidnapped and killed them. This is an act of cowardice. We cannot tolerate this. People stand firmly against terrorism."
"We demand a massive operation to eliminate the terrorists involved in this act. Security forces should sweep the entire hills so that people feel safe to go out to graze cattle in these areas," he added.
The Sanatan Dharam Sabha urged the general public in Kishtwar to fully support the bandh call and keep all their business establishments, educational institutions and shops closed.
Kishtwar MLA Shugan Parihar condemned the killings and said, "I am deeply saddened by the horrific killings of our VDG brothers, Nazir Ahmed and Kuldeep Kumar, in a heinous act of terrorism in the forest area of Kuntwara, Kishtwar district. I offer my heartfelt condolences to the families of these brave martyrs".
She added, "The grief and pain of losing someone in this manner is something I deeply feel."
In Jammu, protests were held by the Kishtwari Sangathan and they burnt the effigy of National Conference (NC) and its leaders. They demanded beefing up security areas of Kishtwar where the minority community lives, and carrying out operation to clear the hills of terrorists.
Protests were also held in Udhamour, Sanva, Kathua and Reasi districts.
