Lightning kills 3 in Rajkot as Gujarat faces rain fury

Three people died after they were struck by lightning in Rajkot district as heavy rains lashed many parts of the state, including Kutch and Saurashtra, regions on Monday.

Many parts of Saurashtra received up to 75 mm rainfall in the last 36 hours. Jamnagar recorded 65 mm, Amreli 77 mm, Junagadh 40 mm and Gondal in Rajkot 75 mm of rainfall, district control room said.

Police said Devgan Jhala (14) and his cousin Kisan Jhala (13) were working in their field at Kotda Sanghani in Rajkot when lightning struck them. The duo sustained serious injuries and were taken to Rajkot Civil hospital where they died, said Dr Harsha Patel.

In another incident, a farmer was killed by lightning when he was working in his farm in Jagdan town of the district, officials said.

Meanwhile, heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorm lashed Ahmedabad and nearby areas on Monday evening, leading to waterlogging which disrupted vehicular movement at many places.

At least four trees were uprooted in different areas.

Municipal Commissioner Guruprasad Mohapatra said the city received four inches of rain in three hours.

According to the Meteorological Centre, Vadodara recorded almost 30 mm rainfall between Sunday evening and Monday morning.

Besides, Radhanpur recorded 37 mm rainfall, Valsad 31 mm and Diu 13 mm in the past 24 hours.

The MC has predicted rain or thundershowers over Ahmedabad till Tuesday morning, with heavy spells of showers likely to hit isolated areas throughout the state's eastern half.

The Saurashtra and Kutch meteorology sub-division recorded little rain over the weekend, although the season's cumulative rainfall in Amreli and Bhavnagar districts are no longer 'scanty' (a deficiency of 60% or worse). It has now been upgraded to 'deficient' (deficiency between 20% to 60%).

With 87% deficit, Porbandar is now the driest district this season.

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