Raipur. In Chhattisgarh, life has been badly affected due to sudden strong storm, torrential rain and lightning on late Thursday evening and Friday morning. Incidents of uprooting of trees, power failure and falling of mobile towers have been reported in many areas.
During MNREGA work in Antagarh in Kanker district on Friday morning, 3 people, including a Deputy Sarpanch, died and 5 were injured when lightning struck villagers standing under a tree.
During the MNREGA work in village Kanhargaon of Antagarh in Kanker district, the villagers stood under the Mahua tree to save themselves from the sudden storm and rain.
Meanwhile, 3 villagers including the Deputy Sarpanch died due to lightning, while 5 others sustained serious burn injuries. Kanker district administration and local police officials confirmed the incident and said, “This incident of lightning is extremely tragic.
The injured villagers were immediately admitted to the hospital where their treatment is ongoing. As per government rules, a financial compensation amount of Rs 4 lakh each will be approved and provided to the families of the deceased from the Disaster Relief Fund soon.
There were reports of mobile towers falling and being damaged in many areas due to the pressure of strong winds, disrupting communication services. Late Thursday evening, due to heavy rain and storm in the capital Raipur and surrounding major areas like VIP Road, Shankar Nagar and Mova, trees and electric poles were uprooted, causing long traffic jams and blackout-like situation at many places.
The strong storm and rain that occurred in Balod district on Thursday severely affected life. A 131 feet high BSNL mobile tower collapsed due to a severe storm in the early hours of Friday in village Bhediya Navagaon of the district. Officials have said that the tower fell in a field away from the populated area, due to which there was no loss of life.
The Executive Engineer of Balod District Electricity Department and the local administration have issued a statement saying, “The storm has caused huge damage to the infrastructure. Many teams of electrical workers are busy repairing poles and removing trees on a war footing.”
According to the district administration, electric poles and more than 50 trees also collapsed. Due to this, blackout like situations were created in many villages. In Mungeli, the entire tin shed of a government liquor shop was blown into the air due to the strong storm that came on Thursday evening.
The roofs of many houses were also damaged during the strong storm. As soon as information about the incident was received, teams of electricity department and administration reached the spot. Electricity department employees are busy restoring power supply. At the same time, work is being done to remove trees that have fallen on the roads.
Due to heavy rains in Korba, there was severe waterlogging on National Highway 130 (NH-130), leading to several kilometers long traffic jam and complete halt of the traffic system.
District traffic police and municipal corporation officials have said that this situation occurred due to road construction and drainage jam. Municipal Corporation staff have been instructed to remove water by installing pumps and police force has been deployed to smooth the traffic.
Local revenue officials of Mungeli district said, “The damage caused by the strong winds is being assessed (survey). Many people’s houses have been damaged, they will be compensated under RBC 6-4.”
Bilaspur district administration and electricity department officials said that due to the strong storm that occurred on Thursday night and Friday, trees have fallen on the power lines, causing a fault.
Maintenance teams have been immediately sent to the spot. Electricity will be restored soon by pruning the trees in the affected areas.” Giving information about the torrential rains along with thunder and lightning in Surguja and surrounding rural areas, officials of Municipal Corporation Ambikapur and Revenue Department said, “The corporation staff is working to remove water by installing pumps from the low lying areas which were filled with water due to drainage jam due to the rains.
Meteorological Center Raipur has warned that there is a possibility of strong winds at the speed of 50-60 km/hour, lightning and moderate to heavy rain in Bilaspur and Surguja divisions for the next 48 hours.
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