Lightning kills 6 migratory birds, 9 goats in CG

Raipur: Two separate lightning strikes claimed the lives of nine goats and six migratory birds in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur and Korba districts as thunderstorms accompanied intermittent rainfall across parts of the state over the past two days.In Bijapur, nine goats were killed after lightning struck Koter village of Gangaloor tehsil late on Wednesday night. Villagers said the lightning struck during heavy rain and thunder, killing all the animals on the spot.The incident was reported to the local administration, following which a revenue department team visited the site and began assessing the loss. Officials said compensation proceedings would be initiated for the affected livestock owner in accordance with govt norms after completion of the assessment.In a separate incident on Thursday morning, six migratory Siberian birds died after lightning hit a tamarind tree at Dussehra Chowk in Rampur village in Korba district.According to villagers, a large flock of the birds had perched on the tree when lightning struck during a spell of rain accompanied by thunder.The birds are known to arrive in the Kanki region every year after travelling thousands of kilometres before the monsoon, and residents consider their annual arrival a good omen.The back-to-back incidents come amid widespread thunderstorm activity and intermittent rainfall reported across several parts of the state over the last 36 hours.