Lightning kills seven in Nellore

Nellore: Seven persons died in Nellore district on Thursday due to lightning when a severe thunderstorm hit various parts of the district in the afternoon. Huge winds coupled with heavy rain lashed the city and many mandals snapping power supply due to damages to poles, cables and transformers.

Kalahasti Subbarao, 54, of Padamata Gogulapalli in Allur mandal; Narapareddy Penchala Reddy, 62, of Bhaskaragirivari Kandrika of Bogole mandal and G Srinivasulu, 37, of Puderu in Naidupet mandal died due to lightning when they were in the open fields.

Further, three people who were rearing the sheep on the outskirts of Chennuru village, died due to lightning strikes.

Malli Guravaiah from Gottiprolu in Naidupet mandal, Subbarayudu, 54, from Chennuru in Dagadarthi and two others-Annavarapu Syam, 35, and Narasaiah, 40, from Gollapalli in Pamur of Prakasam district who died along with Subbarayudu in Chennur who visited the village. Five others received severe injuries in various mandals.

The Electricity department is facing severe pressure in the evening hours due to huge damage to cables, poles, transformers and other equipment in all mandals where the thunderstorm hit. Staff members have been deputed on a war-footing basis for restoring the power in Nellore city, Kovur, Dagadarthi, Kodavalur, Vidavalur, Sangam, Nellore Rural, Gudur, Venkatachalam, Manubole, Kavali, and Naidupet mandals.

In Nellore city, Haranathapuram, Balaji Nagar, Rammurthynagar, Vedayapalem, Ayyappa temple, and many other areas have been facing power woes due to damages to the cables, poles and transformers. At some places, trees have fallen on the cables and polls thus disrupting the power supply.

The Civil Supplies department is procuring paddy stocks in many mandals and the farmers have stored the paddy stocks in the agriculture lands planning to shift them to the Procurement Centres. But the sudden thunderstorm dashed their hopes where the stocks submerged under rainwater. They are in deep distress whether they can get minimum price or not from the government.

The Met department also warned that the moderate rains coupled with gale winds would continue for next two days too and the farmers are in hurry to protect any safe stocks. Further, plantain gardens in Sangam, Nellore Rural, Indukurpet, and Bogole Mandal damaged due to huge gale winds. Officials are collecting the data of damages in the mandals where the thunderstorm severely impacted.