Kol: 2 women dead in lightning strike
Kolkata: Two women died after being struck by lightning on Friday while working in an area under the Pragati Maidan Police Station. The city witnessed scattered rainfall in certain pockets on Friday afternoon.
One Sannyasi Mondal was also injured by a lightning strike at Dhapa. Mondal has been admitted to Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital (CNMCH).
The deceased persons were identified as Kajala Naskar of Sonarpur and Palani Mondal who were working when they were struck by lightning. They were taken to Nil Ratan Sircar (NRS) Medical College and Hospital where they were declared brought dead by the doctors.
A tree had fallen at the Basanti Highway stretch blocking the traffic for a short period. It was soon removed with the help of locals along with police personnel. The situation in Kolkata and parts of Bidhannagar was under control.
“Situation is normal. No complaints of water logging so far. The drainage pumping station is working normally. No additional pumps were used,” the MMiC of Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Debraj Chakraborty said.
People in Kolkata got some relief from the spate of uncomfortable weather on Friday. According to the Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore, the city recorded a maximum temperature of 36.1 degree Celsius and a minimum of 30 degree Celsius.
Though Salt Lake received disrupted showers, it was enough to wet the roads near the Karunamoyee area. “There was more thunder and lightning than the rain. We expected more rain,” said Kalpana Chakraborty, a resident of Salt Lake’s EE Block.
For most of Friday, people experienced humid weather conditions.
It was in the afternoon when the sudden rainfall took many by surprise. The IMD department said enhanced rainfall activity is likely to take place in North Bengal districts from Friday to June 15 in anticipation of the advancement of the southwest monsoon over some parts of North Bengal and Sikkim. However, heat wave conditions as well as hot and uncomfortable weather are to continue over the South Bengal districts from Friday to June 13.
A heatwave warning was issued by the IMD for Friday at Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, West Medinipur, East and West Burdwan districts. It will continue from June 10 to June 13 in these districts. The IMD has suggested people avoid heat exposure, wear light and loose clothes, and cover their heads using cloth, a hat or an umbrella.
For North Bengal, heavy rainfall warnings were issued for Friday at Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts; on Saturday for Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar and from June 11 to June 15 heavy to very heavy rainfall may occur in these three districts while heavy rain may occur in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts.
Alipurduar received the highest rainfall on Friday with Barabisha recording 95 mm.
According to the IMD, conditions are favourable for the further advance of the southwest monsoon into the central Arabian Sea; remaining parts of Kerala; Tamil Nadu; Karnataka, southwest, central and northeast Bay of Bengal and northeastern states in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Head of the Meteorological Centre in Gangtok Gopinath Raha said: “The pre-monsoon rain has caused a slight decrease in temperature in several districts of North Bengal which is expected to continue for the next two days. Thunderstorms with lightning are likely in certain areas but heat wave conditions will persist for two more days in North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Malda. The monsoon is expected to arrive in North Bengal on June 11.”
Chinmoy Dhar, chairman of the Tea Association of India, expressed relief at the recent rainfall and added: “Over 200 tea gardens from Darjeeling plains to Alipurduar received rain. The lack of rainfall in May had severely impacted the second flush of tea, resulting in significant losses for the tea industry. Although the losses cannot be fully recovered this year, the rain will provide some relief for the monsoon flush. The gardens will not require immediate irrigation, and there will be a reduction in insect infestation due to the rain.”
