Bhubaneswar: As many as 6,578 people died due to lightning, drowning and snakebite in Odisha in the last two financial years, the state Assembly was informed on Thursday.
Sharing this information while answering a question in the House, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari 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 peopl
e 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.
As per the data shared by the Minister in the House, more than 200 people drowned in Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Ganjam and Cuttack during the period.
Most of the snakebite deaths were reported from Balasore, Cuttack, Ganjam, and Keonjhar districts.