Lightning kills shepherd, rains destroy crops in many districts

HYDERABAD: A 48-year-old shepherd died on the spot when he was struck by lightning, while there partial damage paddy crops following incessant rains that lashed several parts of Telangana on Sunday.

Paddy crops which were kept in the field yards for getting dry were soaked leaving farmers in the lurch.

In Peddapalli district, a 48-year-old Jangam Komaraiah, a resident of Vennampalli in Srirampur mandal, was out grazing his goats at Mangampet. Around 3 pm, heavy rain lashed the locality along with hailstorms. When Komaraiah was taking his goats to a safer place, he was felled by lightning. The remaining shepherds ran away from the place.

Police received information and visited the place. After panchanama, they shifted the body to the nearby hospital mortuary.
Similarly, rains lashed Nirmal, Bhainsa, Nizamabad, Medak, Nalgonda, Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Sangareddy, Patancheru, Chevella and other parts of the state.

In Medak district’s Chinashankerampet, Kolcharam, Rangampet, and Appajipalli bore a heavy brunt. They had kept wet paddy crops in the field yards for drying. No sooner did they bring the crop onto the roads when rains once again wreaked havoc. The farmers alleged that officials of Indira Kranthi Patham (IKP) centres had failed to procure paddy from them.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a bulletin warning that moderate to heavy rains were likely to lash at Mulugu, Warangal, Khammam, Peddapalli, Nalgonda, Suryapet and Mahbubnagar districts.

Mahbubanagar district reported 6.1 cm rainfall, while at Gadwal district it was 5.9 cm, Wanaparthy 4.8 cm and Nalgonda district 4.9 cm.