Lightning claims seven lives in Marathwada, India

In yet another rain fury that Marathwada faced on Saturday, five persons were killed in lightning in the region, while two were killed in adjacent Jalgaon district.

Victims of lightning in Jalgaon district were identified as Saniya Bapu Mahajan and Vijay Nimba Patil, while in Nanded district the sole victim was identified as Anusuya Chandar Rathod in Mukhed. Shankar Laxman Ingole, Georai, Tanaji Dhondiba Kotkar and Ashti were the victims in Beed district while Netaji Shivaji Lomte and Kallam were killed in Osmanabad. Jalna district also had its share in the toll in the form of Ganpat Dhondiba Chatte.

All these people were working in farms when it started raining on Saturday at around 4 pm. The rain continued lashing the areas nearly for three to four hours and they had taken shelter under the trees in the farm. Similarly, 15 cattle and hundreds of fowls too were killed. The hostility of mother Nature plunged the areas into darkness after the electricity poles were razed to the ground in the might of the rain fury.

Fakirwadi in Kandhar tehsil of Nanded district witnessed rainfall coupled with hailstorm till 10 pm. Similarly, Deglur, Biloli, Bhokar, Mukhed and Loha tehsils in the district too had received heavy rainfall. Normal life was thrown out of gear as these areas were plunged into darkness. The power supply was restored only on Sunday afternoon.

Anyway, the people in the region are continuously bearing the brunt of natural calamity. On one hand there is the killer heat wave with 42 to 44 degrees Celsius temperature and on the other it is 10 to 15 mm rainfall coupled with hailstorm.

This is the fifth occasion in 2014 when Nanded, Beed, Osmanabad and Jalna districts have faced nature’s fury in the form of unseasonal rainfall and hailstorm.