Bhubaneswar: Lightning strikes have claimed the lives of 881 persons and injured 52 others in Odisha in the last three years, informed Pramila Mallik, Minister of Revenue and Disaster Management in the State Assembly today.
In a written reply to a question by BJD lawmaker from Salipur Prasanta Behera, Mallik while informing that lightning strike has been declared as a State Specific Disaster by the State government since 1st April 2015, said that the state government has paid Rs 35, 24, 00000 to the next of kin of the 881 persons killed in lightning strikes and paid Rs 2,65,600 to those injured in lightning strikes in the State in the last three years.
Listing out the major steps taken to tackle lightning strikes Mallik said that OSDMA has inked an agreement with the international agency ‘Earth Networks’ for providing advance information on possible lightning strikes. The agency has installed Lightning Detection Sensors at eight places–Keonjhar, Bolangir, Berhampur, Jeypore, Rourkela, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Panikoili, she added.
The Minister said that these sensors can gather advance information on possible lightning strikes in and around 200-250 km of its radius.
Further, Lightning Detection Sensors installed by Earth Networks in neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh provide advance information on possible lightning strikes, the Minister added.
