The Odisha government plans to plant 20 lakh palm trees to mitigate the risk of lightning strikes.

The state government said these trees, known for their conductive properties, would play a crucial role in reducing lighting casualties.

The announcement comes after the death of 15 people in separate lightning strikes on Saturday and Sunday.

Six persons were killed and four others critically injured in two lightning strikes on Sunday. Two deaths were reported from Kendrapara, while one each was killed in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Subernapur districts.

Nine people, including a minor boy, had died after being hit by lightning on Saturday. As many as 12 people were injured. All of them were working in a field when the lightning struck them. The deaths were reported from Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Ganjam, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur and Dhenkanal districts. The death of the 13-year-old boy was reported from Keonjhar district.

Minister of revenue and disaster management Suresh Pujari said: “Enough is enough. We need to take some steps to reduce the number of deaths owing to lightning strikes. Odisha is one of the states where the number of deaths due to lightning is quite high. Nearly 300 people die in Odisha per year due to lightning strikes. Even there have been reports of students being killed by lightning while they were on school premises. Many schools have reported not having the required earthing systems.”

Pujari added: “Considering these, the forest department has been directed to plant palm trees in all vulnerable places, including school premises.”

Officials said palm trees act as excellent lightning arrestors.

The state government has also issued a regulation prohibiting random cutting of palm trees.

In the last 11 years, 3,790 people have been killed by lightning strikes in Odisha. Ninety per cent of the victims were from the rural pockets of the state.

The state government has joined hands with the Indian Institute of Tropical Management (IITM), Pune, to obtain information about lightning strikes. “Based on the IITM, Pune’s report, the special relief commissioner and revenue and disaster department released the data about the lightning strikes in Odisha. The Earth Network system covers the entire Odisha. Besides, IITM Pune has its own network.”

Odisha has also collaborated with the US-based Earth Networks to get early warnings on lightning.

“We disseminate news and warnings about rainfall and lightning. We get it from the lightning detection centres and issue alerts and warnings about possible lightning. The information is disseminated through different mediums, particularly using the GPS. It’s working on a location-based system (LBS),” said an official.

The Earth Networks cover most parts of the state. “It studies the cloud wave pattern and reports it to the computer. The computer, with its mathematical formulation, comes out with the number of lightning strikes in a particular area at a particular time. The number of lightning increases when the monsoon is receding,” said a weather scientist.