They have reasons to fear. Twelve people were killed and 30 others injured, some critically, after lightning struck various parts of the district in the past two months. Similarly, people of Hatiya, Harnamadi, Chhatiwan, Dhiyal, Shikharpur, Thingan, Betini, Phaparbari, Raigaun, Gadhi and Aambhanjyang in the district are terrified by regular instances of lightning strike. 

“I am scared whenever I see clouds hovering in the sky. We used to witness lightning strikes only once or twice a year in our village in the past, but it has become very frequent in recent years,” claimed Jog Bahadur Majhi, 73, of Chhatiwan-5. Many people in the area also make the same claim as they report fatal cases of lightning strike in the district. On Thursday evening, three persons were killed after lightning struck a house at Aambhanjyang-4 while two persons died in Betini-5 in a similar incident four days ago.  It is said that 10 districts including Makwanpur, Jhapa, Morang, Rupandehi are at high risk of deadly lightning strikes in the country. Each year scores

of people die after being struck by lightning bolts across the country.

Pradip Lamichhane, who has been doing a research on lightning, informed that lightning bolts are often found hitting areas having “active radiation”, hinting at the possibility of high density of radioactive compounds like radium and platinum in the eastern part of the district.