Bhubaneshwar: According to Officials, deadly lightning strikes across various parts of Odisha resulted in nine death and 20 injuries, on August 17. The officials informed that among the deceased was a minor boy. The other fatalities reported were as follows: two from Mayurbhanj, two from Bhadrak and one each from Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, and Ganjam districts.
In Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, a tribal couple was killed by the tragic lightning. Lachhman Murmu and his wife Sakar Murmu were engaged in paddy transplantation but were struck as they attempted to seek shelter, the officials said. In Bhadrak, farmers Amar Sethi and Hemant Barik were also killed by lightning, while they were working in their fields. In Keonjhar district, a 13-year-old minor boy named Rajesh Munda died due to lightning strike too. Additionally, 12 people were reportedly injured in Bargarh, out of which four are in critical condition.
Odisha’s Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed sorrow over the unnatural deaths and has announced ex-gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased. CM Majhi also announced free treatments for all the injured people and wished them speedy recovery.
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Recent other lightning-related deaths
According to a data by Climate Resilient Observing-Systems Promotion Council, Odisha witnessed 10,741 lightning-related deaths in the past five years. The officials said on August 17, three women died while working in their paddy fields and seven others were injured in Chattisgarh’s Jashpur district due to lightning strikes. A 20-year-old farmer was also killed by lightning while returning from his agriculture field at Nandupa village in Asifabad mandal on August 16.