India News | Lightning Strikes Claimed 1,472 Lives in Odisha in Five Years: Minister

Bhubaneswar, Feb 7 (PTI) Lightning strikes have claimed 1,472 lives and left 145 people injured in Odisha in the last five years, state Revenue & Disaster Management Minister Sudam Marndi told the Odisha assembly on Wednesday.

Replying to a query by Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, the minister said the state government had declared lightning as a disaster in June 2015.

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An ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each has been paid to the next of kin of those killed in lightning strikes in accordance with state disaster response fund guidelines, he said.

Similarly, a compensation of Rs 2.50 lakh is being provided to any person in case he or she loses an eye (s) or any other organ leading to a disability of more than 60 per cent due to a lightning strike, he added.

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If the disability is between 40 per cent and 60 per cent, the compensation amount is Rs 74,000, he said.

The government has also made a provision for a compensation of Rs 16,000 if a person requires hospitalisation for more than a week due to a lightning strike.

Moreover, Rs 5,400 is provided to a person injured in lightning and hospitalised for less than a week, the minister informed the assembly.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)