Residents stay indoors as dust storm, shower lash Alwar district

ALWAR/JAIPUR: With memories of May 2 deadly dust storm still afresh, the residents of Alwar preferred to stay indoors when another storm hit the city on Saturday evening.
However, no casualties were reported from the district. Since May 2, Alwar has witnessed dust storms and showers nine times.
The meteorological department on Saturday issued a warning of dust storm and gusty winds at isolated places in the state.
Roads wore a deserted look as people avoided going out. Trees and electricity poles got uprooted and some houses also got damaged in the storm on Saturday. Power cuts were imposed as a precautionary measure in the area. For three hours, several parts of the city remained without electricity. Now, the district administration officials are on the job of repairing the poles to restore electricity supply.
Mahesh Yadav, a resident of Alwar collectorate area, said, "May 2 night was horrifying. People are now scared of dust storms. Whenever a dust storm hits the city, they confine themselves indoors." For 15 minutes, high-velocity winds with dust continued to torment the residents. When the storm subsided, people heaved a sigh of relief. Soon, mild showers turned the weather pleasant by bringing down the temperature. Alwar's Behror, Neemrana, Shahjahanpur, Khairthal and Tijara received showers after the dust storm. With Alwar witnessing frequent dust storms, the district collector has constituted a team of officials from different departments including electricity, PWD, UIT etc to begin relief works.
Chittorgarh remained the hottest place in the state at 45.2 degrees Celsius on Saturday. Except Sriganganagar and Pilani, most parts of the state recorded temperatures above 41 degrees Celsius. Barmer sizzled at 44.4 degrees, Churu at 44 degrees, while Jaisalmer and Jodhpur recorded 42.8 degrees Celsius each. The Met department has predicted dust storm with light rainfall for Jaipur. The city recorded 42.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday.