AT LEAST 11 people were killed on Thursday afternoon after being struck by lightning in different places across Malda district of West Bengal, a Government official said. The district administration has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased, he said. “So far, 11 people have been killed due to lightning strikes. A number of injured people are being treated at various hospitals. Some of the injured are in critical condition,” the official told PTI. Three persons — Chandan Sahani (40), Raj Mriddha(16) and Manajit Mandal (21) — were killed in Malda’s Sahapur area, while another person identified as Asit Saha (19) died in Gajol after he was struck by lightning while working in a mango orchard, he said.

 

Eight-year-old Rana Sheikh in Manickchak’s Mohammed Tola and a couple, Nayan Roy (23) and Priyanka Singha (20) of Harishchandrapur, also losted their lives due to lightning, the official added. In Haddatola, lightning killed Atul Mandal (65) and Sheikh Sabrul (11) while Sumitra Mandal (45) lost her life in Mirdadpur, he said. In Englishbazar’s Milki, a man identified as Pankaj Mandal (23) was killed. Meanwhile, a hoarding installed on the roadside collapsed on a stationary mini truck in Pimpri Chinchwad area of Maharashtra’s Pune district on Thursday as a result of strong winds, police said. Nobody was injured in the incident that occurred days after a giant hoarding collapsed in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar area, killing 16 persons and injuring 75 others. A crane was pressed into service to remove the crashed iron structure. Also, the Meteorological Department on Thursday forecast thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds in parts of Andhra Pradesh for four days from May 17.

 

Parts of north coastal Andhra Pradesh,Yanam, South Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema are expected to receive rainfall. Further, it said the southwest monsoon is very likely toadvance into South AndamanSea, parts of southeast Bay of Bengal and Nicobar Islandsaround May 19. Normal life was thrown outof gear as rain lashedHyderabad and other parts of Telangana on Thursdayevening. Rains in Kerala are likely tointensify in the next few daysas the India Meteorological Department (IMD) onThursday predicted very heavyrainfall in the state betweenMay 18 and 20 due to likelyprevalence of strong westerlyand south westerly winds inthe region. Normal life was thrown outof gear as rain lashedHyderabad and other parts of Telangana Thursday evening. The rainfall led to waterlogging on the roads at someplaces in the city and traffic snarls. Greater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation(GHMC) Mayor Vijaya LaxmiR Gadwal visited Uday Nagarin Banjara Hills where slab of the ‘naala’ broke, the sourcessaid.