Heavy rains lash Lucknow, brings down mercury
Lucknow, June 8 : People in Uttar Pradesh got some respite from the heat and humidity after skies opened up over the state capital and neighbouring areas on Friday.
As heavy rains lashed the city for more than two hours, youngsters took to streets and drenched themselves in the first rains of the season.
The Regional Met office said these were pre-monsoonal showers and the weather would remain the same for the next 24-hours. The skies would be overcast with intermittent rains in Lucknow and eastern Uttar Pradesh.
It predicted gusty winds along with rains in Lucknow, Barabanki, Unnao, Sitapur and Hardoi in the next 24-hours till Saturday.
There were heavy traffic snarls at many places like Hazratganj, Alambagh, Narahi, Indira Nagar, Aliganj and Gomtinagar with office goers and commuters facing a tough time.
Power outages were also reported from many localities here.
As roads were dug up for sewer pipeline laying to improve the drainage system ahead of the monsoon, many low lying areas turned into pools and people had to wade through them.
Angry residents questioned the rationale behind the government's pre- monsoon jobs. Internet connectivity was also been hit at some places due to water logging or snapping of the optical fibre cable.
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Curbs on movement, assembly remain in force in Kashmir after protests against Khamenei's killing
Srinagar (PTI): Normal life in Kashmir was affected for the fifth consecutive day as partial restrictions on movement of people remained in force as a precautionary measure.
The restrictions were imposed on Monday after spontaneous protests broke out across Kashmir a day earlier against the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israel joint strikes.
Chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday held a meeting with civil society representatives and religious leaders as part of efforts to bring the situation back to normalcy.
ALSO READ: Protests against Khamenei's killing: Curbs remain in force in Kashmir
After the meeting, Abdullah appealed to people to maintain peace while expressing grief and anger in "mosques, shrines and Imambaras".
The government has shut educational institutions till Saturday, and reduced mobile internet speeds.
"Restrictions on the movement and assembly of the people continued in many parts of Kashmir on Thursday," the officials said.
A large number of police and paramilitary CRPF personnel were deployed across the city to prevent gatherings of protestors, the officials said.
They added that concertina wires and barricades were placed at important intersections leading into the city, while asserting that these were precautionary measures imposed to maintain law and order.
The iconic Ghanta Ghar in the city centre of Lal Chowk here continued to remain a no-go zone after the authorities sealed area with barricades erected all around it on late Sunday night.
The move to seal the Ghanta Ghar came after it witnessed massive protests on Sunday after Khamenei's assassination in the joint air strikes by the US and Israel.
This is the first time since August 2019 -- when Article 370 was revoked -- that protests on such a large scale have taken place in Kashmir.
