Replying to a question by BJP MLA Tankadhar Tripathy, Minister Pujari said a total of 1103 people died due to lightning strikes from across the State during 2019-20 and 2023-24.
The Minister said the state recorded the highest lightning-related fatalities in the country in the last five years, adding that states with higher mineral deposits tend to record more lightning fatalities because minerals are good conductors of electricity.
As per the Statement of the Minister, the lightning death cases were registered in all 30 districts of Odisha. A maximum of 151 people were killed due to lightning strikes in Mayurbhanj district, followed by Ganjam district, where 114 people lost their lives due to the natural disaster.
A total of 542 people died due to lightning in Uttar Pradesh during the period, he said.
The Minister further told the House that the Odisha government had declared lightning as a state-specific disaster in April 2015 as lightning has not been declared as a natural disaster by the government of India.
The State has been providing an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed in lightning strikes from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), he added.
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