Lightning Deaths: Over 1,600 Lightning Deaths in Odisha in 5 Years | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: Altogether 1,625 people died in lightning strike in Odisha in the past five years, the highest for any Indian state, revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari told the assembly here on Thursday.
He said Odisha has witnessed on average more than six lakh lightning strikes during the last six years. Mayurbhanj district has reported the highest lightning strikes of around 72,000 per year, followed by 50,000 in Sundargarh district and 46,000 per annum in Keonjhar per year, he added.
Pujari said Odisha reports the highest number of lightning deaths compared to other states.
“When we tried to know the causes of this, we found that the states with a large amount of minerals receive more lightning strikes. Minerals are good conductors of electricity. Because of the huge deposit of minerals, we are vulnerable to lightning,” he added.
He said the govt has been taking steps to create awareness among people, which will help prevent deaths. “Palm trees are being planted in the state. Steps are being taken to plant more such trees in the coming days. The state govt has announced lightning as a state-specific disaster since April 1, 2015. It provides Rs 4 lakh as compensation to the kin of people who die in lightning,” he added.
Manoranjan Mishra, professor of geography at Fakir Mohan University, Balasore, said aerosols (dust particles) generated from mining areas help in snow formation in the cloud. “Pollutants also heighten the risk of lightning. Around 85 per cent of lightning strikes happen in the sky and 15 per cent reach the groun,” he said. “Mostly farmers get hit by lightning in the afternoon. Proper awareness need to be created among them,” he added.
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