Boy falls off tree; lightning strike kills him in Maharashtra’s Palghar

a team has been rushed to Dahanu to assess the situation and compensation to the boy’s family was likely to be given under rules stipulated for a natural disaster.

A 17-year-old boy died while two others suffered injuries after they fell from a tree as lightning struck while they were trying to get mobile connectivity on Monday at Dahanu in Maharashtra’s Palgarh district.

The tree from which Ravin Korda fell after it was struck by lightning in Dahanu village of Palghar, Maharashtra. (Sourced)

Dahanu tehsildar Rahul Sarang said Ravin Bachu Korda died as he fell from the tree after losing his balance as the lightning struck. His three friends, Mehul Anil Mankar, 14, Deepesh Sandip Korda, 14, Chetan Mohan Korda, 13, also fell down and received minor burns and fractures.

Sarang said a team has been rushed to Dahanu to assess the situation and compensation to the boy’s family was likely to be given under rules stipulated for a natural disaster.

Residents of the villages in the Wada-Dahanu belt climb onto teakwood trees to catch mobile signals to make phone calls because of a patchy network. Shashi Thakur, a local resident, said the villagers prefer teakwood trees because they are the tallest grown in the area and have strong branches. “...due to weak network, we are compelled to climb the tall teakwood trees and talk. It is a big risk as there are chances of falling... especially during the monsoons...”

Vasant Bhoir, another resident, said they have written letters to all service providers to improve the network but to date, there has been no response.

Machindra Agiwale, a journalist with a Marathi newspaper, said he would travel on a bike around six kilometres to the nearest town to file his stories. “...mobile service providers are ignoring the rural areas and not installing towers in the villages.”