Fresh bout of storm 'very likely' in parts of UP

Lucknow: Thunderstorms and dust storms are "very likely" at isolated places in Uttar Pradesh tomorrow, the Met office warned as the state recovers from a storm earlier this week which killed 18 people. On Wednesday, five people died in Etawah district, three each in Mathura, Aligarh and Agra, two in Firozabad and one each in Hathras and Kanpur Dehat.

Twenty-seven others were injured. Earlier, on May 2-3, a storm killed 134 people and injured over 400 in five states. Uttar Pradesh then bore the brunt with 80 deaths, most of them in Agra district.

A Met office spokesperson said today that the forecast for tomorrow is rain, thunderstorms and dust storms, with gusty winds at isolated places. The state government has given families of those killed in Wednesday's storm Rs 4 lakh each as compensation. The loss to farmers not covered by the crop insurance scheme is being estimated.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had directed officials to speed up relief operations. Ministers-in-charge and district magistrates were asked to visit the affected districts.