Expert committee to study lightning deaths in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Aug 8 (IANS) With around 400 people dying in the state every year due to lightning strikes, the Odisha government on Tuesday formed an 'expert committee' to ascertain the reason behind lightning death incidents and undertake awareness campaigns to curb such deaths.

The expert committee will comprise of officials from Odisha State Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) and Office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) and other concerned departments.

While about 2,000 people lose their lives every year in India due to lightning, in Odisha the number is around 400 every year - which constitute 20 per cent of the total deaths in the country, said an official.

A meeting in this regard was chaired by Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Maheswar Mohanty and it discussed about enhancing awareness on lightning safety in the state to save the lives of humans and animals from the killer natural phenomenon.

Massive awareness among the people about safety tips is highly necessary to reduce the casualty, said Mohanty.

Development Commissioner R. Balakrishnan said there should be an analysis of lightning deaths in the state to identify the areas and classes of people highly vulnerable to thunderstorm/lightning.

It was decided to institute a study in this regard with the help of experts.

Awareness posters and other materials are to be developed by OSDMA.

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