TWo boys were killed and one injured in lightning with normal life becoming hampered yesterday as moderate intermittent rain to downpour accompanied with strong thunderbolts had been continuing since Thursday midnight.

The scale of thunderbolts seemed to be unprecedented in recent years even after the end of the rainy season that frightened the city dwellers, who were forced to wake up by the recurrent thunderbolts.

There were also reports of damages to household electronic goods of some residences in the city when lightning struck houses midnight and in the early morning.

Police said Ibrahim, 12, of Sovvabill area in Fatikchhari upazila in the district and Nur Mohammad, 18, of Shikolbaha under Karnaphuli thana were killed, while Hanif, 17, of Sowabill was injured in the lightning strike in the morning and noon.

Electronic household goods worth about Tk 1.5 lakh of journalist Mostafa Kamal Pasha were damaged following an electric short circuit at his residence in Nasirabad area as a powerful thunderbolt struck its roof.

Patenga Met office measured 116mm rainfall during the past 24 hours from 4:00pm on Thursday. Officials said the unusual rainfall at the influ- ence of the depression brew over the Bay of Bengal and active monsoon in the country

It also forecast light to moderate and moderate to heavy rainfall during the next 24 hours at different parts of the country.

The torrential showers on the eve of the winter affected the life as well as business activities in the port city of Chittagong and different parts of the district.

Fire service, Chittagong metropolitan and district police control room sources, however, confirmed that there were no reports of hill sliding or mud collapse due to downpour that often causes human casualties and injuries in the port city and on its outskirts during the rainy season each year.

Officials of Chittagong Port Authority said overall operational activities of the country's prime seaport remained uninterrupted, but unloading of bulk cargoes from vessels and their delivery from sheds were hampered partially during the heavy shower.

Incessant showers mounted the suffering of commuters, particularly the pedestrians and low-income group people, as movement of private and public vehicles were relatively thin that provided a chance for rickshaw pullers and drivers of CNG-run auto-rickshaws to claim excess fares from them.