BHUBANESWAR: Close to 10,000 people lost their lives due to drowning in the state in the last seven years, making it one of the most common cause of deaths in Odisha. As per the standing committee report on Revenue and Disaster Management department, drowning claimed more lives than any other natural calamity or state specific disasters last year. A staggering 1,476 individuals drowned in the state in 2022, taking the total number of cases to 9,982 between 2016 and 2022. On an average, during the period four lives were lost daily making drowning one of the most common cause of fatalities in the state after road accidents.
In view of rising number of fatalities due to drowning every year, the Odisha government has already declared it a state specific disaster as per which ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the family of the deceased. Government statistics, however, suggest the number of drowning cases in 2022 is less compared to previous two years as the state had recorded 1,805 such deaths in 2021 and 1,840 in 2020.Apart from this, statistics suggest 935 cases of drowning deaths had been recorded in Odisha in 2016, which subsequently went up to 1,079 in 2017, 1,406 in 2018 and 1,441 in 2019. The ex-gratia is being provided from the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) after due field verification, the standing committee in its report mentioned.
Officials said most of the cases are being reported from areas where people depend on river, stream or water bodies. Negligence during bathing is one of the primary cause of such deaths. On the other hand, despite such large number of cases reported every year, Odisha is yet to have adequate measures in place to prevent drowning incidents. “Though Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) has constituted a management committee to oversee the implementation of its snake bite reduction programme, such committee is yet to be formed for drowning,” admitted an official from the SRC office.
He said a programme to sensitise people regarding drowning and impart training has been planned and it is likely to be taken up in near future.
On the other hand, the standing committee report revealed that apart from drowning, 917 persons in Odisha also died due to snake bite, while one person died due to boat capsize last year. At least 159 persons died due to lightning, while another 13 persons lost their lives to fire accidents. Heat wave also claimed 14 lives, while 13 persons also died due to flood and heavy rain that affected 14,235 houses and damaged crops on 1.24 hectare land in 2022. The state government as on January 2023 has provided Rs 672 crore to various departments and districts towards relief related expenditure, the report revealed.