Storm kills 31 in Rajasthan

Jaipur, May 3: A powerful dust storm hit Rajasthan’s Alwar, Dholpur and Bharatpur districts, killing 31 people and injuring another 100, officials said. The storm, which lashed at a speed of 100 km per hour on Wednesday night, uprooted trees, severed telephone, power and water supply links and brought down houses. State Disaster Management Minister Gulabchand Kataria called an emergency meeting here and confirmed that 16 persons were killed in Bharatpur, 10 in Dhaulpur and five in Alwar. For the first time in the state, a storm has been included under the category of natural disaster and funds to the tune of Rs 2.5 crore have been sanctioned for each district, Kataria said. (IANS)