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In 24 hour, lightning kills 74 across three states
On Sunday, 11 visitors at the historic Amber Fort on the outskirts of Jaipur were killed when a lightning bolt struck at a watchtower on which they were taking a selfie. Another 20 visitors were injured in the incident, the local police said.
Lightning strikes killed 74 people in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh over 24 hours, making it one of the worst such disasters in the region in the recent past, according to data provided by the governments of the three states on Monday.
On Sunday, 11 visitors at the historic Amber Fort on the outskirts of Jaipur were killed when a lightning bolt struck at a watchtower on which they were taking a selfie. Another 20 visitors were injured in the incident, the local police said.
A witness said the incident occurred between 6.30pm and 7pm. “It was already raining when the people were there. As the rain intensified, they huddled together in the tower,” said senior police officer Saurabh Tiwari, adding that up to 30 people were there on the tower when lightning struck.
Elsewhere in Rajasthan, seven children were killed in lightning strikes of whom four were in Kota and three in Dholpur. On Sunday, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot announced ex-gratia payment of ₹5 lakh each to the kin of the dead and ordered compensation for the injured.
There were 41 deaths in Uttar Pradesh across 16 districts on Sunday evening in lightning strikes. “Thirty people have been injured as well. Ex-gratia of ₹4 lakh will be paid to the kin of the deceased,” Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner Ranvir Prasad told a news agency.
He added that 250 animals were also killed in the lightning strikes and 20 were injured.
In Madhya Pradesh, at least 11 people, including four minors, were killed and 13 sustained burn injuries due to lightning strikes on Sunday evening, the police said. Seven were killed in Gwalior and Chambal region, two in Rewa, and one each in Betuka and Hoshangabad, said a statement from the state disaster management authority.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed about these incidents and the loss of lives, a person aware of the developments said. “Deeply saddened by the demise of people. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased: PM @narendramodi,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a tweet.
Later, the PMO issued a statement in which it said that ex-gratia relief of ₹2 lakh each to the families of the dead and ₹50,000 to the injured was announced.
On June 7, lightning strikes in several districts of West Bengal killed at least 27 people. This prompted the India Meteorological Department to point to a trend of increasing danger from the weather phenomenon. Scientists there said that lightning strikes have killed nearly 2,000 people every year in India since 2004, which is nearly twice the number of deaths recorded since the late 1960s.
Former director general IMD KJ Ramesh said that more deaths are being reported because of better reporting and compensation being awarded.
“We need to create lightning alert systems to warn people as some states such as Odisha have done,” he added.
