PATNA: At least 20 people died due to lightning strikes in eight districts in the last 48 hours in Bihar, according to official reports.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the deaths due to lightning strikes between Monday evening and Tuesday.
Seven deaths were reported from Kaimur district about 150km from the state capital, while Patna and Bhojpur reported four deaths each. Jehanabad, Arwal, Rohtas, Aurangabad and Siwan reported one death each.
Kumar also announced an ex-gratia of ₹4 lakh for the next kin of the deceased and appealed to people to take precautions in inclement weather conditions, according to an official press release.
Light to moderate rain occurred at a few places over north-central, south-central and south-east parts during the past 24 hours, said officials at the Patna office of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The IMD has predicted moderate to heavy rain across the state till July 30. Weather department official Kamini Kumari said, “ Light to moderate rain will occur at a majority of places (in the state) this week. Fairly widespread rain accompanied with lightning and thunderstorm is likely across the state till July 30.”