Two killed in lightning strike, another injured as unseasonal rain lashes Marathwada

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Two youths died and their friend suffered grievous injuries in a lightning strike near Nath Nagar in Jalna's Ambad taluka on Monday evening, as unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms hit parts of Marathwada, causing fresh crop losses.Although officials have not yet released an initial assessment of the damage, crops from the extended rabi season and those grown during the summer were believed to have suffered due to the extreme weather events.According to a five-day alert issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Mumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, Latur and Dharashiv districts have been placed under a yellow alert, forecasting thunderstorms, lightning, moderate rainfall and wind speeds of 50-60kmph at isolated locations. Parbhani, Hingoli and Nanded districts have been issued an orange alert, warning of thunderstorms, lightning, strong winds and hail at a few places.Ambad tehsildar Vijay Chavan said Govind Pralhad Lahane (21) and Aditya Dagadu Bedre (20) died on the spot in lightning strike in Jalna. "The three friends, including the injured, were caught unprepared by the sudden rain and took shelter under a tree when lightning struck. Two of them died instantly, while the third suffered serious injuries and was rushed to hospital," he said.Several talukas in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, including Paithan, Sillod, Soygaon, Gangapur and Phulambri, recorded continuous rainfall with hailstorms at multiple locations. Sillod alone reported the death of four milk animals due to lightning. Similarly, two animals were killed in Umapur village of Georai taluka in Beed on Monday evening. In Latur district, strong winds in Kingaon village of Ahmedpur taluka and parts of Deoni taluka blew away tin sheds of kutcha houses.Farmers' leader Jayaji Suryawanshi said harvested rabi crops, onion fields and orchards suffered significant damage due to the severe weather conditions.In the third week of March too, Marathwada had witnessed similar extreme weather, in which lightning strikes claimed two human lives and 40 milk animals, while causing agricultural damage across more than 11,000 hectares.