Bhubaneswar: Concerned over the alarming rise in the number of lightning deaths in Odisha during the last few days, the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) convened an inter-departmental meeting to undertake disaster-resilient projects under the Disaster Mitigation Fund. Representatives of the Forest Department and Krushi Bihag (Agriculture Department) were present at the crucial meeting.’
Taking to his X (formerly Twitter) handle, the SRC wrote, “The Forest department and Krushi Bivag have been asked to take up massive palm tree plantation in reserve forest areas and other vulnerable districts as a lightning mitigation measure.”
It is worth mentioning here that several people have died in different parts of Odisha due to lightning strikes during the last month. Experts have suggested that large-scale felling of palm trees could be one of the reasons for the frequent lightning strikes.
