BHUBANESWAR: Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari on Thursday attributed the high incidence of lightning strikes and related mortality in the state to its rich mineral resources.
“Though no technology has been developed so far to ascertain the exact cause of lightning and where it will strike, according to data, states with higher mineral deposits tend to record more incidents because minerals are good conductors of electricity. Lightning vulnerability is higher in states like Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh which are rich in mineral deposits,” he told the Assembly.
Replying to a starred question by BJP legislator Tankadhar Tripathy, Pujari said Odisha has recorded 1,625 deaths due to lightning between 2019 and 2024. Even though Uttar Pradesh is five times larger than Odisha in terms of geographical area and population, it reported only 542 lightning deaths in the same period, he said.
As per the written statement laid in the House, 372 people were killed due to lightning in 2019-20, 338 in 2020-21, 294 in 2021-22, 334 in 2022-23 and 287 in 2023-24. Mayurbhanj district registered the maximum 151 lightning deaths, followed by Ganjam (114) in last five years.
Pujari said Keonjhar, the home district of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Balasore district each reported 111 lightning deaths while Boudh district witnessed the lowest 14 deaths during the period.
The minister said on an average, the state reported over six lakh lightning strikes every year. With the highest 4.31 lakh lightning strikes in five years, Mayurbhanj district experienced around 72,000 strikes annually, and with 3.02 lakh strikes, Sundargarh reported an average 50,000 strikes per year. Similarly, districts like Ganjam, Angul, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, Balasore, Koraput, Kandhamal, Bargarh, Rayagada, Balangir and Cuttack witnessed more than one lakh lightning strikes during the last five years.
“Odisha government has allocated Rs 2,300 crore to the Disaster Management department and Rs 200 crore has been kept as compensation amount for lightning deaths. Palm trees are being planted to mitigate the effects of lightning. The Forest department has been allocated Rs 7 crore for palm tree plantation,” Pujari said.