The death toll in the storm that ravaged four districts of Rajasthan on Wednesday has surged to 33. Nine persons were killed in Alwar, 17 in Bharatpur, seven in Dhaulpur and one in Jhunjhunu.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

Over a hundred have been admitted to various hospitals. The storm uprooted electric poles as well as wires and led to power outages and scarcity of drinking water in the three districts. Also, hundreds of trees were uprooted.

The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the deceased and Rs 2 lakh for those seriously injured.

Government officials have been working towards restoring electricity, water and road connectivity in the districts. In Alwar, thousands of electricity poles fell owing to the gale and even mobile towers fixed atop houses were uprooted due to the strong winds. Owing to the power outage, water supply was also affected. People were compelled to buy water from tankers at high prices. According to Alwar collector Rajan Vishal, “Nine deaths have been reported and around 20 persons were seriously injured. Out of these, 17 are undergoing treatment at the district hospital while three have been referred to Jaipur. A whopping 7,000 to 8,000 electrical poles have fallen.

Over hundred transformers and more than 50 large electrical towers have been damaged. Vishal added, “Our biggest challenge is to restore electric supply. It has also taken a toll on water supply. Electricity at the district hospital has been restored and we hope to restore electricity in Alwar city by late evening. The trees that were uprooted were removed and the roads cleared. Traffic is now moving freely. Affected persons will be given compensation as per the disaster relief policy.”    

The death toll in Dhaulpur touched seven and the number of injured was 37. Also, two persons from Uttar Pradesh who were visiting their relatives, were killed. Close to a thousand electricity poles fell in the storm and around 50 houses at Livadakapura village in Basedi were gutted in a fire that broke out during the storm.

According to secretary of disaster management and relief Hemant Gera, relief work has been initiated in all the affected districts.

THINKING ON FEET

Dhaulpur collector Shuchi Tyagi managed damage control by using social media to her benefit. Dhaulpur had witnessed a similar storm on April 11 when 19 persons had died. On seeing reports about a storm hitting Alwar, she concluded that it would move towards Dhaulpur and sent out a message on social media warning people to stay indoors.

WHAT’S IN STORE

SDRF teams have been sent out for road clearance and all roads and highways are now functioning smoothly. There is an IMD warning that dust storms will occur for the next five days. This information has been passed on to the relevant collectors. By Friday the weather is expected to be clear and temperature would also rise. Jaipur might record light thundershower activity.