BHUBANESWAR: At least 51 persons have been killed in the state due to Norwester (Kalbaisakhi) induced thunderstorms and lightning since April 1.
Informing this, revenue and disaster management minister Maheswar Mohanty told mediapersons that while 47 people died due to lightning, four persons have been killed in due to storms induced by Kalbaisakhi that hit over different parts of Odisha. Six people died due to lightning on a single day from Bargarh, Cuttack, Khurda, Kendrapara and Puri districts on Sunday.
Six districts have mostly been affected by the storms induced by Kalbaisakhi. Those are, Bargarh, Subarnapur, Malkangiri, Dhenkanal, Jajpur and Mayurbhanj. The minister said Bargarh district reported the highest loss where crops in over 26,899 hectares have been damaged. The district has been sanctioned Rs 36 crore for providing assistance to the affected farmers, he said.
Besides, Sonepur district reported crops damage in over 923 hectares. The district has been sanctioned ` 3 crore, he said adding that many houses have been damaged in the six districts. The disaster management department has received a preliminary report on crop loss in the six districts due to Norwester, he said.
As many as 561 houses have been damaged in seven districts due to thunderstorm since April, Mohanty said and added that the state government has provided agriculture input subsidy and house building assistance based on the preliminary reports submitted by collectors of affected districts.