States demand that lightning be declared a natural disaster
The HinduA few States have demanded that “lightning” be declared as a “natural disaster” because deaths caused by it surpass any other disaster in the country, National Disaster Management Authority member secretary Kamal Kishore said on March 11. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General, India Meteorological Department, said around 2,500 people died every year due to lightning. Bihar’s Disaster Management Minister Shahnawaz Alam said climate change was responsible for the increase in deaths by lightning, and, in the past five years, more than 1500 persons have died in the State, with 300 deaths being recorded every year. Mr. Mohapatra, while making a presentation at the conference, said the frequency of lightning was the highest in northeastern States and in West Bengal, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar, but the number of deaths was higher in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.