Death toll 86 due to lightning; monsoon active throughout

New Delhi, June 25 (UNI) Seventeen deaths due to lightning were reported in the Bundelkhand region overnight.

While the incessant rains left the low lying areas in the Dakshina Kannada district flooded, the monsoon was active in most parts of the country.

Seventeen people were killed and several others injured by lightning in Madhya Pradesh overnight.

Ten people, including three women and six children, died due to lightning strike accompanied by rain, in Bundelkhand region.

Sixty nine people had died due to lightning in Marathwada region.

Further advance of southwest monsoon is expected as the conditions are favourable in parts of Gujarat, some parts of Rajasthan, some parts of Madhya Pradesh, remaining parts of Chattisgarh and some parts of east Uttar Pradesh in the next 48 hrs, weather office said.

Heavy to very heavy rains are likely to occur at most places in Konkan and Goa, coastal Karnataka, Kerala and at many places in Gujarat, Andman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.

Heavy to very heavy rains have occured at most places in Sub- Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim.

The South West Monsoon is active over Kerala, with most places in the state and Lakshwadeep receiving heavy rainfall.

The change in weather in the Capital this week wherein a heavily overcast sky led to several spells of rain and thundershowers on Monday and yesterday,was due to an offshoot of localised developments, the India Meteorological Department says.

Weathermen said till now, the Southwest monsoon's advancement from the South was to Maharashtra while in the East, it had advanced into Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

The scheduled date for arrival of the monsoon in Delhi is June 29. The clouds drifting on an easterly current brought slight rain and lifted up the holiday spirit among citizens in the capital.

The maximum temperature dipped one degree below normal to 37.8 degree Celsius while the minimum plunged four degrees below normal to touch 25.2 degrees, the met office said.

Many parts of the city experienced a drizzle.

Light rain or thundershowers are likely to be witnessed in Delhi over the next 48 hours while there was a possibility of heavy rains at a few places over Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal, the weather office said.

In Amritsar rains lashed the city and its surrounding areas leading to a sharp decline in day temperatures.

In Haryana, Karnal registered a maximum temperature of 35.3 degrees, three degrees below normal.

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