'Monkeys behaved peculiarly ahead of quake'

Agra: An animal lover on Sunday said monkeys in the Taj city displayed peculiar behaviour ahead of Saturday's earthquake.

"Around 50 monkeys came down from the trees around 8 a.m. on Saturday and sat in a pensive and grim manner near our house. We tried to chase them away but they didn't react. We didn't realise what was coming. But once the earthquake was over, the monkeys left," said Padmini, a resident of Belanganj.

Meanwhile, District Magistrate Pankaj Kumar on Sunday appealed to citizens to move out of old and dilapidated homes to safer places.

The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered the closure of all educational institutions for the next two days, April 27 and 28, as a disaster preparedness measure.