Over 80 dead, 140 injured in 5 states due to lightning strikes, thunderstorms

Agencies

May 14, 2018

New Delhi, May 14: As many as 80 people have been killed in five states due to thunderstorms and lightning strikes since yesterday, with Uttar Pradesh alone recording 51 deaths, the home ministry said on Monday.

Fourteen people died in West Bengal, 12 in Andhra Pradesh, two in Delhi and one in Uttarakhand, a ministry spokesperson said.

Of the 136 people injured in lightning strikes and thunderstorms, 123 were from Uttar Pradesh, 11 from Delhi and two from Uttarakhand.

Lightning strikes and thunderstorms hit 24 districts in Uttar Pradesh, six in West Bengal, three in Andhra Pradesh, two in Delhi and one in Uttarakhand, the spokesperson said.

High-velocity winds uprooted trees and affected road, rail and air services last evening at a number of places in north India, including the national capital.

Thunderstorms also occurred at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Maharashtara, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had said yesterday.

The devastation comes over 12 days after storms hit Uttar Pradesh (UP), Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Punjab, killing 134 people and injuring over 400. UP was the worst affected, accounting for 80 deaths, most of them in Agra district in the western part of the state.

Subsequently on May 9, several parts of Uttar Pradesh were struck by a severe storm that left 18 dead and 27 others injured.

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JDS on the brink: Migration of disgruntled MLAs to Congress, BJP looms amid Nikhil’s hat-trick defeat

News Network

November 26,2024

Bengaluru: The Janata Dal (Secular) is grappling with its most tumultuous political crisis yet, with speculation rife about imminent defections among its lawmakers. This storm comes in the aftermath of party scion Nikhil Kumaraswamy's humiliating defeat in the Channapatna bypoll—his third consecutive electoral loss after setbacks in Mandya (2019) and Ramanagara (2023). With the regional party’s Assembly tally shrinking to 18 from 19, questions are being raised about its survival.

The murmurs of rebellion were amplified on Monday when Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and Congress MLA CP Yogeshwar openly hinted at possible desertions within the JD(S) ranks. Yogeshwar, newly elected from Channapatna, declared he could orchestrate a migration of JD(S) MLAs to Congress. “I’ll meet them at the Belagavi session. Within a month, they’ll be in Congress,” he confidently stated during a televised interview. Yogeshwar has a history of engineering defections, having played a pivotal role in the collapse of the JD(S)-Congress coalition government in 2019 during his stint with the BJP.

Dinesh Gundu Rao, not mincing words, slammed the JD(S) leadership for fostering "self-serving politics," criticizing the HD Deve Gowda family for failing to nurture party talent. “There’s no trust. Their MLAs will seek survival—either in BJP or Congress,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, the expelled JD(S) state president CM Ibrahim added fuel to the fire by claiming that 12-13 MLAs are "disillusioned" with the current leadership. Speculations around senior JD(S) leader GT Deve Gowda joining Congress have also intensified. DK Shivakumar, Karnataka’s Deputy CM and Congress president, described GT Deve Gowda as a “valuable leader” who might be frustrated with the party’s internal dynamics.

While Congress leaders seem eager to poach JD(S) legislators, the BJP is not far behind in targeting the floundering party. The situation signals a decisive moment for the JD(S), as its survival now hinges on how it manages this brewing storm of discontent.

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