Maharashtra to pay Rs 4 lakh to lightning strike victims' kin

The Maharashtra government announced here today that it would pay Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each victim killed by lightning strikes in the state.
The announcement came after 41 people lost their lives due to lightning strikes in various parts of Maharashtra during the last fortnight, an official said.
Revenue and Agriculture Minister Eknath Khadse said that district collectors have been asked to provide financial assistance to kin of lightning strike victims, within 24 hours of postmortem.
"The government has now decided to pay Rs 4 lakh to each victim of natural calamity, including lightning strikes," Khadse said, after a state cabinet meeting here, adding that earlier the amount was Rs 1 lakh.

Almost half the deaths due to lightning strikes during the last fortnight were reported in the drought-affected Marathwada region where lightning claimed 19 lives.
"Altogether 19 people have died due to lightning strikes in the Marathwada region during the last fortnight," Aurangabad Divisional Commissioner Umakant Dangat told PTI.
District wise figures of such deaths include: Nashik -4, Aurangabad- 4, Ahmednagar- 5, Jalna - 3, Parbhani - 7, Osmanabad- 3, Latur - 2, Nanded - 4, Yavatmal - 3, Wardha - 1 and Nagpur - 2, he said.
Environmentalist Atul Deulgaonkar said that the number of lightning related deaths in the state in the last five years would be around 1,000, adding that the meteorology department is not interested in taking appropriate measures.