30 die in Uttar Pradesh squall

The strong winds wrecked havoc and affected normal life in many parts of the state, disrupting communication, traffic and power supply, reports said on Saturday.

While seven people were killed in Shahajahanpur district, about 170 kilometres from here, six persons were killed in Farrukhabad district in incidents of house collapse, reports said. Sitapur district accounted for five deaths while three each were killed in Pilibhit and Lakhimpur-Kheri district.

Movement of vehicles on the Lucknow-Delhi National Highway and the Grand Trunk Road came to a halt after several trees were uprooted in the storm and fell on the roads. At many places, electricity poles were uprooted affecting power supply, as a result of which several parts of the state were plunged into darkness.

Movement of trains in some sections of the North-Eastern Railway was also disrupted for several hours when uprooted trees fell on the tracks, officials said.