Parts of Delhi’s neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh – Ghaziabad, Noida – were heavily inundated on Thursday after heavy rains that began the previous night and continued almost non-stop throughout the day, killing several people.
The rainfall is attributed to the western quadrant of the low pressure area, with eastern parts of the National Capital Region, including Noida, Ghaziabad, north and east Delhi, expected to bear the brunt of the system.
Heavy rains in Ghaziabad and Noida killed at least three people, including a three-year-old girl who died at her home in Vijay Nagar and was found face down in the water, sparking protest from local residents.
A child was found dead face down in a flooded house in Ghaziabad
HT had earlier reported that three-year-old Pallavi drowned after being swept into a water-filled drain outside her home in Sarvodaya Colony under Vijay Nagar police station limits.
The police said that the girl was found with her face in the water and it is suspected that she slipped and drowned in the rainwater that accumulated in the area.
The previous report quoted Upasana Pandey, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Vijay Nagar, as saying: “Local residents protested and captured the girls after the incident. Rainwater also entered her house.”
“She went out in the afternoon and may have slipped in stagnant water. There was about 2-3 feet of water accumulating in our area. After some time, we noticed her face down and took her out and took her to the hospital. But they declared her dead,” Anuj Kumar, the girl’s uncle, was quoted as saying.
Harrowing videos emerged, allegedly showing the girl’s family members trying to revive her.
Another death was reported from Gian Khand in Indirapuram district, where a 24-year-old guard, Bablu Kumar, allegedly died after being electrocuted while crossing a park near the private office where he worked.
“It is suspected that the man died due to electrocution amid heavy rain. The police have sent the body for post-mortem,” Abhishek Srivastava, ACP (Indirapuram), told HT.
He was working nearby in Makanpur and was a native of Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh, police said.
His sister-in-law Parvati Devi said: “He was working as a guard in a private office nearby and was crossing the park when he was struck by electricity. We took him to the hospital, but he was declared dead.”
Separately, the body of a man was recovered from a drain adjacent to the Delhi-Saharanpur road after he fell. It is suspected that he did not see the drainage on the road, which was severely flooded. Police said his identity has not yet been identified.
As per the official 24-hour average data issued by the India Meteorological Department mentioned in the previous HT report, Ghaziabad recorded 134mm and 164mm of rainfall at Hindon and Kamla Nehru Nagar stations between 8.30am on Wednesday to 8.30am on Thursday.
According to IMD, Gautam Budh Nagar received 62 mm rainfall in the same period.
Experts said that the heavy rains were caused by a low pressure area reaching Delhi. “The cyclone traveled from the Bay of Bengal into western Uttar Pradesh during the early morning hours, bringing rain,” amateur meteorologist Navdeep Dahiya said.
On Thursday, the Ghaziabad district administration declared a holiday for all schools on Friday.
