At least 83 people were killed by lightning in various districts of Bihar, and 24 in Uttar Pradesh while many people were reported to be injured as heavy rain and thunderstorms lashed several areas of north India on Thursday, a government official said. Out of the 83 dead in Bihar, 13 people were killed in Gopalganj district alone.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced a Rs 4 lakh ex gratia each for the families of those killed.
According to reports, 8 people were killed in Madhubani and Nawada district each, six each in Bhagalpur and Siwan, and five each in Banka, Darbhanga and East Champaran districts.
Most of the victims were working in the fields. The injured have been admitted in hospitals.
Heavy rain with thunderstorms and lightning has lashed various parts of Bihar even before the onset of the monsoon in the state.
Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh, in the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, 24 people died in lightning strikes in the state amid heavy rain and thunderstorm. Out of them, nine died in Deoria district alone.
“Amid rain and thunderstorms, 24 people have died due to lightning strikes in various districts of the state today — one in Kushinagar, one in Fatehpur, one in Unnao, 9 in Deoria, 2 in Barabanki, 6 in Prayagraj, 3 in Ambedkar Nagar and 1 person has died in Balrampur,” UP’s Relief Commissioner Sanjay Goyal was quoted as saying.
Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, too, has announced Rs 4 lakh ex gratia each for the next of kin. Reacting to the deaths, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences and said that the state governments of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are prompted responding to the situation.
With agency inputs