Widespread rains in north India; 7 killed by lightning

New Delhi, Feb 10 (UNI) Seven people were killed by lightning while snowfall in Himachal Pradesh and widespread rains in other parts of the country, including Jammu, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan, today led to intensified cold wave conditions.

Five people were killed and two injured when lightning struck them in separate incidents in Madhya Pradesh.

Three people, including two children, of a family died and one person was injured in Jabalpur's Katangi area and one person died and another was injured in Indore, while one person died in Sheopur district.

Jabalpur recorded highest 33.7 mm rainfall, Sheopurkala 15 mm, Gwalior 12.7 mm and Bhopal 10.2 mm.

Agriculture experts said the unseasonal rains was beneficial for wheat crop but would cause damage to gram and other pulse crops, which were ready for harvest.

In Himachal Pradesh, all high altitude areas of Kinnuar, Chamba, Lahaul Spiti, Kullu, Sirmaur, Shimla, Mandi and Kangra were continuously receiving fresh spell of intermittent snow, while rains were lashing the lower areas of the state since last evening, the met office said.

Shimla Met Office Director Manmohan Singh said the thick cloud cover over the entire northern region of the country was likely to bring rain and snow and intensify coldwave conditions in the state, he added.

The met office said Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul Spiti district, had received over a foot of snowfall, while Solang Nullah recorded about four inches of snow.

Lahaul, Spiti and Pin Valleys and Keylong, the district headquarters of Lahaul Spiti, were also experiencing intermittent snowfall since last night.

The mountain peaks of Dhanetereru and Khudimoral, Mahalwar Dhar, Ranot Koti and upper reaches of Devi Kothi mountain ranges had also experienced fresh spell of snowfall, while the snowflakes were reported from the tourist towns of Dalhousie and Khajjiar in the district.

In Uttar Pradesh, two children were killed and as many injured after they were struck by lightning in Agra.

Rainfall was witnessed in Allahabad, Jhansi, Varanasi, Agra, Kanpur, Bareilly, Moradabad, Lucknow, Kanpur and Saharanpur divisions.

Allahabad -- at 13 degrees Celsius -- 3 degrees above normal, was the coldest place in the state. Lucknow recorded 15 degrees Celsius, which was seven degrees above normal.

All prominent trains, including the Allahabad bound Ganga Gomti Express, Prayag Raj Express, Shaheed Express, Kisan Express and Duplicate Punjab Mail were running several hours late.

Widespread rain lashed the plains of Punjab and Haryana since last night. Chandigarh and its adjoining areas were also lashed by rain, preceded by high velocity winds and hail.

In the national capital, rains together with the South Easterly winds led to a return to cold weather. The rain and thunderstorms accompanying it brought down the maximum temperature to 17.2 degrees , six degrees below normal.

About 20 mm of rainfall was recorded, weathermen said.

Weathermen attributed the fresh spell of rain and thundershowers to the influence of a fresh Western disturbance originating from Pakistan. In Jammu and Kashmir, widespread thundershowers lashed different parts, registering 23.0 mm rainfall at Shri Mata Vaishnodevi temple town of Katra since last night.

Jammu received 8.4 mm rainfall while it was recorded 16.4mm at Batote and 13.6 mm at Banihal areas of Doda district. Bordering Rajouri and Poonch districts were receiving a heavy rainfall since yesterday, sources said. However, traffic on the 300-kms Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was normal.

In Rajasthan, border cities like Barmer recorded 23.1 mm rainfall and Jaisalmer 14.7 mm. Jodhpur recorded 14.3 mm, Dholpur 8.2 mm, Kota 7.1 mm, Bundi 6 mm, Sawaimadhopur 5 mm, Ajmer 4.2, Rawatbhata 4.8, Bharatpur 2.8 mm, Jhalawar 2 mm.

Jaipur recorded 1 mm rain over the past 24 hours.

According to weather office the maximum temperatures have seen a sharp decline of - 5 degrees Celsius at some places like Ajmer which recorded 21 degrees yesterday. Similarly at Ganganagar, the maximum temperature dropped 6 degrees from normal yesterday, standing at 18 degrees.

Jaipur also witnessed a 5 degrees drop from normal, mapping 20 degrees yesterday. UNI