‘Indradev causing rain without prior information’: Man files official complaint amid UP downpour

• A Hardoi man filed an official complaint against “Indradev”, blaming the Hindu rain god for prolonged rainfall and asking officials to use their “divine contacts” to stop it.

• Hardoi recorded seven deaths, seven injuries, 30 cattle deaths and damage to 330 houses between 25 and 27 September, according to the district administration.

• The wider rain spell has caused at least 56 deaths across Uttar Pradesh, with more than 1,000 houses damaged, according to figures reported by the state relief authorities.

A man in Uttar Pradesh has filed an unusual complaint against Lord Indra, the Hindu god of rain, blaming him for incessant rainfall and asking officials to use their “divine contacts” to control the downpour.

Suraj Tiwari, a resident of Nevadda Paras village in Hardoi district’s Mallawan block, submitted the complaint through the state’s public grievance portal on 26 September.

Tiwari complained that “Indradev” had been causing excessive rainfall for several hours, disrupting normal life.

“Sometimes heavy and sometimes slow rainfall is completely disrupting normal life. Indradev is continuously causing rain without any prior information, putting the general public to unnecessary trouble,” he said in his complaint.

He said roads, lanes and low-lying areas had been inundated, making it difficult for residents to leave their homes and carry out their daily work. The prolonged rain had also raised concerns among farmers over possible crop damage.

In his concluding request to the district magistrate, Tiwari wrote that he did not know Indradev’s mobile number and asked the administration to use its “divine means of communication” to direct the deity to stop the rain.

The complaint has since been widely circulated on social media.

The unusual complaint comes amid severe disruption caused by heavy rainfall across Uttar Pradesh.

At least 56 people were reported dead and 46 injured in rain- and storm-related incidents across the state between 25 and 27 September, while 1,021 houses were damaged, according to figures from the state relief authorities.

In Hardoi, seven people died and seven were injured between 25 and 27 September in incidents linked to excessive rainfall, snakebites and other rain-related events, according to the district administration.

Thirty cattle also died and 330 houses were reported damaged. Sandila tehsil was among the worst-affected areas, with two deaths, six injuries and damage to 87 houses.

“Five deaths have occurred due to excessive rainfall and two due to snakebites,” Additional District Magistrate Dipali Bhargava said.

Rescue teams evacuated residents from waterlogged areas and moved them to relief camps, while arrangements were made for food, drinking water, ration and accommodation.

Bhargava said waterlogging was being cleared and road and electricity services restored as relief operations continued.

The wider three-day spell of heavy rainfall has affected large parts of Uttar Pradesh, with widespread waterlogging, damage to houses and crops, and rising flood risks reported across several districts.