Lightning toll 34 in Marathwada: Rains held up in North

New Delhi, June 20 (UNI) The death toll due to lightning reached 34 in Marathwada even as the weatherman said monsoon in northern parts of the country would be delayed by another week, following weakening of pressure in the Bay of Bengal.

A report from Aurangabad said five more deaths were reported on the fourth day today, as heavy rains accompanied by thundershowers continued to lash the region.

According to information available at the divisional commissionerate , a total 34 people were killed and 17 injured due to lightning in seven of the eight districts of Central Maharashtra's Marathwada region, in the last four days.

Latur registered nine deaths, followed by Aurangabad (seven), Beed (six) Jalna (five), Parbhani (three) and Nanded and Osmanabad two each.

A report from Mumbai said even as there were a few showers in some areas of the city, one person died and six others sustained injuries when lightning struck them near Girgaon Chowpatty in South Mumbai.

Five people were killed and two others injured in two rain-related incidents in Tamil Nadu. A report from Vellore said two people were killed and two injured when gelatine sticks stored at a hut near a stone quarry exploded.

In the other incident, three members of a family were killed in a wall collapse due to heavy rains in Cuddalore district.

The victims were sleeping in their house when the wall collapsed due to heavy rainfall.

Meanwhile, scientists of Chandra Shekhar Azad Agriculture and Technology University in Lucknow said there were pre-monsoon showers in Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar and some parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh.

''However, it weakened last week in Bihar due to less pressure condition in the Bay of Bengal.'' The revival of monsoon is expected in the last week of June or the first week of July. Thereafter, Northern India is likely to witness normal rainfall.

A senior scientist said the delayed monsoon would not hamper kharif crop as paddy cultivation was at nursery stage. However, if monsoon delayed further it would certainly affect crop output.

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