3 dead as dust storm hits West UP; crops suffer heavy damage

AGRA: At least three people died and two others were injured after a powerful dust storm swept across western Uttar Pradesh on Friday night, causing extensive damage to crops and houses across several districts.In Kasganj, four siblings — Shivsagar (24), Sanjeev (18), Aarti (22) and Sandhya (12) — were returning home after harvesting wheat at around 10:45 pm when a jackfruit tree branch, snapped by strong winds near Nawada, fell on their motorcycle. “Sanjeev and Aarti died, while Sandhya and Shivsagar are seriously injured,” said SHO Ganjdundwara Radhe Shyam Singh, adding that the bodies were sent for postmortem and the injured referred to Aligarh.In a separate incident in Mathura, a 43-year-old man, Pankaj Lal, died of electrocution after his vehicle collided with an electric pole that fell on the road during the storm in the Surir police station area.The storm was part of a wider spell of extreme weather that hit several parts of rural western Uttar Pradesh on Friday night.Areas including Fatehpur Sikri, Kagarol, Fatehabad, Akola, Bichpuri, Kheragarh, Iradatnagar and Kiraoli witnessed strong winds, rain and hail, damaging both standing and harvested crops.Apart from Agra, similar damage was reported in Naujheel, Kosi Kalan, Baldeo, Barsana and nearby regions. The Mathura administration said farmers are being assisted in registering crop damage complaints on the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima App or via the toll-free number 14447, with more than 10,000 applications already submitted and compensation assured.Agra DM Aravind Mallapa Bangari told TOI, “Officials are assessing the damage and compensation will be ensured. Kiraoli was the worst-affected tehsil.”Agriculture experts from the Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Bichpuri said high-speed winds have lodged standing wheat crops, affecting yield and grain quality, while vegetables such as okra, bottle gourd, ridge gourd, maize, pumpkin, cucumber and tomato have also suffered severe hail damage.Farmer leaders and local representatives have urged the govt to conduct a prompt survey and release adequate compensation to mitigate the crisis.