Dust storm kills five in Uttar Pradesh, damages property

Lucknow, May 24 (IANS) A dust storm in Uttar Pradesh in the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday claimed at least five lives, uprooted trees, and caused heavy damage to mango crop, electric poles and other infrastructure, police said.

One man was killed in Meerut district when a hoarding ripped apart from the poles hit him. An infant was killed in Daboi Khurd village of Sambhal district when a wall collapsed on her.

More incidents of wall collapse claimed a life each in Hardoi and Unnao districts. A person was also killed in Kanpur rural due to an incident related to the dust storm, an official said.

A huge tree was uprooted at the world famous Taj Mahal in Agra.

The overhead wire on the railway tracks near the Mathura oil refinery snapped leading to halting of trains for more than an hour.

Railway traffic was also hit at many other places.

Heavy damage to mango crop across the state has also been reported.

The storm was followed by rains with Sultanpur district receiving the maximum at 4.6 mm.

While the dust storm and the subsequent rains brought down the temperature at many places, the regional Met office said the phenomenon would not last long and that the heat wave would soon return.