Road mishaps, lightning strikes claim 17,335 lives in Odisha in 3 years: Minister

A total of around 17,335 persons died in separate incidents of road mishaps and lightning strikes in Odisha in three years, Commerce & Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena and Revenue & Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari informed on Thursday.

Road accidents have tragically resulted in the deaths of 16,278 individuals over the past three years, as confirmed by the Transport Minister. During this period, 30,453 persons have also sustained grievous injuries due to accidents.

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These statistics were shared by Transport Minister Jena in response to a question posed by MLA Chakramani Kanhar during today’s session in the Legislative Assembly.

Similarly, lightning strikes have caused 1,057 fatalities in the same timeframe. Of these, 201 deaths occurred over the last seven months, 271 during FY 2023-24, and 306 in FY 2022-23. Mayurbhanj, Balasore, and Ganjam districts have reported the maximum number of deaths caused particularly due to lightning strikes.

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This information was presented by the Disaster Management Minister in the Assembly.

Worth mentioning, Bangiriposi Ghat road (National Highway-49) in Mayurbhanj is now being termed a ‘killer road’ due to the increasing number of accidents leading to fatalities.

More than 250 road accidents have occurred on the Ghat road alone during the last two years, leaving more than 100 critically injured and over 50 dead, a source said.