Bhubaneswar, Mar 19 (PTI) Altogether 6,578 people were killed due to lightning, drowning and snakebite in Odisha in the last two financial years, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari told the assembly on Thursday.
In a reply to a question from MLA Chakramani Kanhar, the minister said 3,439 people died in such incidents in the 2023-24 financial year, and 3,139 in 2024-25.
During the two years, 3,860 people drowned in different water bodies, while lightning strikes claimed 600 lives and 2,118 people were killed after being bitten by venomous snakes, he said.
In 2015, the Odisha government had declared heatwave, lightning, boat capsize, tornado, heavy rain, drowning, snakebite and fire as state-specific disasters, providing assistance to victims from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).
In case of deaths due to lightning, drowning and snakebite, the Odisha government provides Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased from the SDRF through direct benefit transfer, Pujari said.
During the last two financial years, the government disbursed a total of Rs 263.12 crore as ex gratia to the families of 6,578 deceased people, he said.
More than 200 people drowned in Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Ganjam and Cuttack during the period, as per the data provided by the minister in the House.
The majority of snakebite deaths were registered in Balasore, Cuttack, Ganjam, and Keonjhar districts, he said.
Mayurbhanj district accounted for the highest number of deaths at 119 due to lightning strikes in the two years. PTI BBM BBM BDC
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