At least 33 individuals were killed and dozens sustained injuries in the past 48 hours due to lightning strikes amid monsoon storms in Bihar. The devastating incident took place between Wednesday and Thursday in several parts of the state.
CM Announced Ex Gratia
Earlier, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the deaths and posted the same on his X handle. The CM also announced an ex gratia of ₹4 lakh to the families of victims who lost their lives by lightning, advising people to exercise caution during adverse weather conditions.
The state disaster management department statement revealed that most of the victims were farmers and labourers who were working in the open places.
Speaking with news agency AFP, Bihar state’s disaster management minister, Vijay Kumar Mandal, said that officials in vulnerable districts had been directed to “create awareness to take precautionary steps following an alert on lightning”.
As per the state government report, at least 243 died in 2024 and 275 the year before due to lightning during peak monsoon season.
Beside this, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted extremely heavy rainfall (≥21 cm) at isolated places over South Interior Karnataka on Friday, issuing a red alert for Rajasthan and Kerala.
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