Three boys were fatally struck by lightning in Murshidabad and Malda, while two more in East Midnapore’s Nandigram were electrocuted by a torn wire on Thursday, as rain and winds swept Bengal a day after Cyclone Yaas.
According to sources, lightning struck a group of sevenof Ramna in Murshidabad. Ahadul Sheikh, 16, and Sahidul Islam, 15, died, and the rest suffered serious burns.In Malda, Shyam Mandal, 11, died when lightning fell on a mango orchard in Bangitola.In Nandigram, Akash Padua, 16, and Pratim Pradhan, 17, were cycling when Akash touched a live wire torn by the storm. As he fell, Pratim tried to help him, but both were fatally electrocuted.
Panchayat samity president Abu Taher called the incident unfortunate and said the torn wire should have been noticed by residents.
Across north Bengal, there were bouts of rainfall, right from the Darjeeling hills to the foothills in Siliguri and Dooars.
“The cyclone has faded and as a consequence, a low-pressure area has developed in Jharkhand and adjoining areas, leading to rain. There are chances of similar rainfall during the next 24 hours. Also, in a number of places, including Siliguri, a steady gush of wind was witnessed in the morning till the afternoon hours,” said a weather expert.
Among the districts, it rained heavily in Malda since morning. All major roads of the town and important areas, including the premises of the district administrative building, the old circuit house and the court compound got waterlogged.
Rainwater also engulfed vast areas of Malda Medical College & Hospital, including the emergency ward.
“We have asked the PWD department to dismantle a small construction on the west side of the flyover in Englishbazar so that water can flow out. The situation is being monitored. Pump sets have been sent to different places so that water can be flushed out,” said Shekhar Kumar Choudhary, the newly appointed administrator of Englishbazar municipality.
According to weather experts, it rained around 45mm in Malda in 24 hours till 8.30am.
“But as rainfall continued even in the afternoon, it seems a higher amount of rainfall would be recorded in the district on Friday morning,” said a weather expert.
