Thunderstorm uproots trees in Una, 2-year-old girl killed

Our Correspondent

Una, March 30

A thunderstorm during the night intervening Friday and Saturday wreaked havoc in Una district and uprooted many trees. A two-year-old girl was killed when a tree fell on the hut in which she along with her family members was sleeping at Takka village, about 5 km from Una city.

The deceased has been identified as Sapna, daughter of Munna, a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh. The incident occurred around 2 am when speedy winds struck the region and a mango tree fell on the temporary thatched structure of the family.

Broken and uprooted trees snapped electricity cables at many places, leading to power outage through the night in almost all parts of the district. The power outage continued till about 11 am today. A number of roads and highways remained blocked for some time, while village link roads were cleared only after the dawn.

Traffic on the Dharamsala-Chandigarh national highway was disrupted at Ghandawal village for at least half an hour after tree trunks fell on it. The highway was cleared during the night. Fallen tree trunks also blocked the Una-Garhshankar road in the Tahliwal industrial area for about one hour before these were sawed to make way for vehicles.

Meanwhile, standing wheat crop suffered damage in most parts of the district. The standing crop was flattened due to rain and strong winds. Many farmers like Ravinder Kumar of Kotla village and Sansar Chand of Rainsary village said that their wheat crop was flattened and there was little chance of recovery.

About 10 per cent wheat crop was damaged last month due to yellow rust, which thrives on dampness and fluctuation in temperatures. Last night’s showers further raised worries among the farmers regarding the recurrence of the fungal disease.

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