Muktsar, July 4: Heavy rains, accompanied by strong winds, claimed the lives of five persons, including three of a family, in Malout on Tuesday night. The deceased have been identified as Amritpal Singh (35), owner of a laboratory at Khubban village, his two daughters Manshirat (seven) and Agampreet (five), all residents of ward 14.
They were sleeping when the roof collapsed. Amritpal’s wife Tejinderpal Kaur, who is pregnant, suffered a head injury.
A few hours after the death of her husband and two daughters, the woman gave birth to twins at a private hospital. She doesn’t know that her husband and daughters are no more.
In another incident at Malout village, Harjinder Kaur (22), who was also pregnant, died after the roof of her house collapsed. Her husband, a driver, was away and she was sleeping with the other family members.
At Mahuana village, Tarsem Singh (56), a truck driver from Samana in Patiala district, who had come here to attend a two-day refresher course at the State Institute of Automotive and Driving Skills (SIADS) died after the roof of a roadside eatery gave way. The deceased was sleeping with five others who escaped with minor injuries.
With rainwater inundating paddy and cotton fields at several places, the worst affected were farmers and shopkeepers.
Drains were seen overflowing at various villages, flooding various localities in Malout.
Electricity towers at Bhagwanpura village were damaged due to strong winds. While one electricity tower fell in the fields, the other got partially damaged, disrupting the power supply.
Ravi Brar, a farmer from Tappakhera village, said, “I had sown paddy, but now the field is submerged. I don’t even have more seedlings for transplantation. The state government’s decision to sow paddy after June 20 has caused losses to farmers in the area.
The sad part is that nobody from the administration has come to take stock of the situation. The water level is rising and it may even damage the residential area.
Residents will have to block roads.” Meanwhile, the district administration announced a relief of Rs 1 lakh each to the next of kin of deceased. “I have also initiated the process to give Rs 4 lakh more to the families. Besides, a special girdawari has been ordered to assess the crop loss,” said Sumeet Jarangal, Deputy Commissioner, Muktsar.
Source Tribune India
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