Rain and hailstones damage polling booth, houses in Meghalaya

A polling station in Meghalaya's South West Garo Hills and several other houses and crops were badly damaged after a heavy rainfall with hailstones lashed the areas, officials said today.
"The roof of a school building which will be used as a polling station in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Dorambokgre village under Betasing block was damaged completely and crops were damaged in several villages in the district in last night's rains," District Deputy Commissioner Ram Singh said.
Roofs of over 90 per cent houses in villages in the area were badly damaged, he said.
Betasing Block Development Officer A G Momin rushed to the spot to conduct immediate assessment of loss caused by hailstones and also to ensure necessary relief to the victims.

Later in the day, the district's Deputy Commissioner Ram Singh also visited the villages to take stock of the damage.
In West Garo hills, the villages which saw maximum damage on Thursday night were Dorambokgre, Jewilgre and Bolgamgre, while houses were damaged in many others, a district official said.
Meanwhile, hailstones and light rain also hit several parts of the capital Shillong, but there was no report of any damage caused to households and crops.