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Eight killed due to squall in North-West India

Houses damaged, trees uprooted, power & water supplies disrupted

Chandigarh: Eight people were killed and 10 others injured as a squall, accompanied by rain and lightning, hit the north-west region on Monday night, bringing a sharp decline in the mercury. Six people were killed in Punjab and two in Himachal Pradesh. The squall, with wind speed exceeding 102 km per hour in Chandigarh, damaged houses, uprooted trees, disrupted power and water supplies, blew off hoardings, signboards and roofs of thatched houses, snapped telecommunication wires, triggered fire incidents and perished animals in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

A couple was killed in a house collapse at Sindwa Jamita village in Gurdaspur district of Punjab. The deceased were identified as Charan Singh and his wife Joginder Kaur.

In a similar incident in the district, a labourer, identiifed as Gauri Shankar, was killed at Phara village. In another incident in the district, one Jagjit Singh who was driving a tractor, came under it when he lost its control during the storm near Deepawal village. Another person, identified as Kamar Masih, riding a bi-cycle, was killed when a tree fell on him at Allowal village in the district. One person, identified as Kewal Singh (55) died due to sudden shock on seeing the fire that engulfed the entire Randhirpurthe village in Kapurthala district. The duststorm, accompanied by lightning, played havoc in more than two dozen villages in Kapurthala district. A 30-year old woman, identified as Kirana, and her daughter Seema were buried alive when a factory wall collapsed on their temporary hut in the industrial area of Baddi in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh due to the duststorm. The deceased were residents of Chattarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, a report from Shimla said. Three other people, were injured due to the collapse of the wall. The duststorm, accompanied by lightning, played havoc in more than two dozen villages in Kapurthala district.

More than three dozen animals perished and fifty houses gutted in fire incidents, in which agriculture implements, tractors, two combines and one car were damaged, a report from Kapurthala said. Several houses and hundreds of the wheat straw collections were reduced to ashes in fire incidents occurred at more than 30 places in and around Phagwara, Goraya, Phillaur, Banga, Nawanshahar, Noormahal, Nakodar during speedy storm followed by rains and hailstorms last night. One person sustained serious burn injuries when his house and wheat straw were gutted in fire due to lightening which struck at Lakhanpur village, a Phagwara report said. A duststorm of high velocity also lashed Moga and other parts of the region. The entire town plunged into darkness as power supply was disrupted. The wind and duststorms also lashed many parts of Haryana, including Ambala, Rohtak, Karnal and Jind.

An old woman was critically injured in a house collapse at Dhaman Heri village in Karnal where about 55 houses were damaged. At least 18 houses were gutted in fire incidents in the district. The fires were triggered by smouldering fires in open hearths.

Several roads, including Kaithal-Karnal, Karnal-Yamunanagar and Pheowa-Nelokheri road, were blocked due to fallen trees on the roads, a report from Karnal said.

Several areas in the region, including Chandigarh, Ambala, Karnal, Ludhiana, Patiala, Bhuntar and Shimla, experienced rain. The heat wave has abated from the region following the duststorm and rain.

The weather office has predicted light to moderate rain or thundershowers at few places in Himachal Pradesh and isolated places in Punjab and Haryana during the next 24 hours. -- UNI

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