Bhubaneswar: Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Maheswar Mohanty on Monday said that 51 people have been killed due to Nor’wester (Kalabaisakhi) and lightning in the state since April 1.
While 47 people died in lightning strikes and four were killed as Nor’wester swept different parts of Odisha, he told mediapersons.
The minister further said that his department had received a preliminary report on crop loss in six districts due to Nor’wester. The six affected districts are Bargarh, Subarnapur, Malkangiri, Dhenkanal, Jajpur and Mayurbhanj.
“Bargarh reported the highest loss with crops over 26,899 hectares damaged. In Sonepur district, crops over 923 hectares have been destroyed. The Nor’wester also damaged 561 houses in this district,” the minister added.