Bhubaneswar, March 20: In a recent statement to the state assembly, Odisha’s Revenue and Disaster Management Minister, Suresh Pujari, revealed that fire accidents have resulted in 416 fatalities across the state over the past three years.
Data indicates that in the fiscal year 2022-23, fire incidents claimed 192 lives. The following years saw a gradual decline in fatalities, with 118 deaths reported in 2023-24 and 106 in 2024-25, reflecting a slow but steady decrease in fire-related deaths.
Additionally, the statistics shared in the assembly highlighted that, apart from the loss of life, fire incidents have caused property damage amounting to ₹27.84 crore over the last three years.
The Minister also reported that during the past two years, 2023-24 and 2024-25, natural disasters such as snake bites, lightning strikes, and drowning led to the deaths of 6,578 individuals in the state.
According to the data, drowning accounted for 2,006 deaths across various local bodies in 2023-24. This number saw a slight decrease to 1,854 in the fiscal year 2024-25.
Despite an increase in lightning-related fatalities, drowning remains the leading cause of disaster-related deaths in Odisha. The number of lightning deaths rose from 286 in 2023-24 to 314 in 2024-25. Furthermore, deaths from snake bites have significantly decreased, dropping from 1,147 in 2023-24 to 971 in 2024-25, according to the data.
Odisha has consistently ranked among the states in India with the highest number of snake bite fatalities, posing a serious public health and safety concern.
In response to another query, Pujari noted that lightning strikes have claimed 1,336 lives over the past five years.
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