Bihar: 15 Killed In Lightning Strikes, CM Nitish Kumar Announces Ex Gratia Of Rs 4 Lakh

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appealed to the people of the state to remain alert and stay indoors. He also urged them to follow advisories issued by the Disaster Management Department.

Five deaths were reported from Rohtas district, followed by two each in Katihar, Gaya and Jehanabad.

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New Delhi: Fifteen people were killed after being struck by lightning in eight districts of Bihar in the last 24 hours, news agency PTI reported. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed condolences over the death and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the family members of each of the deceased.

According to a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on Wednesday, five deaths were reported from Rohtas district, followed by two each in Katihar, Gaya and Jehanabad. Khagarai, Kaimur, Buxar and Bhagalpur recorded one death each.

Nitish Kumar appealed to the people of the state to remain alert and stay indoors. He also urged them to follow advisories issued by the Disaster Management Department.

Notably, nine people were killed due to lightning in seven districts in the state earlier on Tuesday. According to reports, Banka and Buxar districts reported two deaths each, followed by one each in Bhagalpur, Rohtas, Jehanabad, Aurangabad and Jamui.

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Meanwhile, several areas in Darbhanga remained submerged as incessant rain lashed the district on Tuesday. The entire campus of Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital, including the medicine, emergency, paediatric department remained submerged.

Darbhanga Nagar MLA Sanjay Saraogi said the district administration had chalked out a plan to maintain the drainage system before the onset of monsoon, but with little monitoring, the city has been witnessing waterlogging in several parts.

Earlier on Monday, IMD had issued ‘orange’ alert for Bihar, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim. The remaining states of Jharkhand and Odisha will remain under ‘yellow’ alert till Wednesday, the weather office said.

It is to be noted that between June 1 and 28, West Bengal recorded 136 mm of rain (against normal of 227 mm) while Jharkhand reported 84 mm (against normal of 170 mm). Bihar reported only 37 mm of rainfall against the state normal of 140 mm.