Uttar Pradesh woke up to heavy rains on Thursday morning

Lucknow: Most parts of Uttar Pradesh woke up to heavy rains on Thursday morning, while the weather office announced that more heavy showers were in store. The present weather conditions would continue till the weekend and it would get sunny only after Sunday, according to the Met Department.

The rainfall, the Department said, has been triggered by a western disturbance over the Himalayas and a moisture feed from the Bay of Bengal. The rains that started on Wednesday, are continuing in Lucknow, Ayodhya, Sultanpur, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Balrampur, Gonda, Bahraich, Shrawasti, Hardoi and Lakhimpur.

Intermittent rains will occur throughout the day in Ambedkarnagar, Lucknow, Sitapur, Gonda and Barabanki, the Department said. Besides adding to the winter chill, the rains have disrupted normal life at many places as school going children have been stranded at many places.

The attendance in some schools has dropped, a teacher at a school here told IANS. Vehicular traffic has also been hit and the speed of vehicles on major highways has slowed down. More than a dozen trains were delayed inculding the Archana Express, Jan Sadharan Express, New Delhi-Jalpaiguri Express, Rajdhani Express and the Swatantrata Senani Express.

Meanwhile, four persons have been injured in rain-related incidents across the state, including an 11-year-old who was struck by lightning in Hardoi.