Bajarmara: A village of lightning and thunderbolts

Bajarmara, a village, which is almost 40 km from the state capital, cover with a layer of pain and grief as the village loses more than 10 people and thousands of cattle due to lightning and thunderstorms every year. It is noticed that those who had lost their lives were mostly farmers and were working on the field when the deadly thunderbolts strike them to death.

Ranchi:Usually, the arrival of monsoon brings happiness and prosperity for human beings as well as for the Earth. In this season, people get a respite from the scorching heat. But, for Bajarmara, a village, which is almost 40 km from the state capital, cover with a layer of pain and grief as the village loses more than 10 people and thousands of cattle due to lightning and thunderstorms every year.

When ETV Bharat asked the meaning of the village's name, one of the octogenarian men said, "The name 'Bajarmara' has been derived from the Hindi language, which means Vajrapat(Lightning)."

"We got scared whenever the deadly thunderbolt strike in our village. The sound of the lightning is as intense as a bomb hurled over the village", a man in his 50's told to ETV Bharat.

The village is situated on a hill which is surrounded by several mountains and forest. The main occupation of the villagers is farming as the literacy rate of the village is below 32 per cent.

It is noticed that those who had been killed were working on the field when the lightning struck them.

"We used to work on the field during the rainy season. We are always advised to avoid working in this season. As this is a season of sowing paddy, we are forced to work in the field, despite knowing the fact that it could be proven deadly", said a farmer to ETV Bharat here.

When the team of ETV Bharat spoke to the experts, they claimed that the geographical location of the village makes the condition favourable for lightning and thunderbolts.

"The state is surrounded by hills and mountains. That's why the frequency of lightning is more as compared to other states. As of now, the village Bajarmara has not been in our notice. But now, we can assure you (ETV Bharat) that a team of disaster management will visit the village soon and necessary steps would be taken by our government", said Jharkhand Cabinet Minister Banna Gupta to ETV Bharat.

Moreover, the minister also informed that a disaster management authority is going to be set up in the State soon.

With this, the process for releasing compensation for damages caused due to disasters can be released quickly and it will also come in handy for spreading awareness amongst people against natural disasters.