By Nageshwar Patnaik in Bhubaneswar, May 17, 2025: Alarmed by the growing number of deaths due to lightning strikes, the Odisha Forest and Environment Department has announced a new initiative to plant palm trees worth Rs 6 crore during the current fiscal. Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia on Saturday told media highlighted the importance of palm trees in mitigating the impact of lightning strikes.

“Palm trees are known to act as natural lightning conductors and help disperse electrical charges during thunderstorms, thereby reducing the chances of casualties,” the minister explained. “To address this concern effectively, we are intensifying our efforts to plant more palm trees across lightning-prone areas of the state,” he added.

At least nine people, including six women, were killed and some others injured in separate incidents of lightning strikes across Odisha amid thunderstorms in the state on Friday, officials said..

The IMD had earlier issued a ‘red warning’ for thunderstorms, lightning accompanied by hail and gusty wind speed reaching 60 to 70 kmph in several districts including Koraput, Cuttack, Khurda, Nayagarh, Jajpur, Balasore and Ganjam, in the afternoon.

While three persons died in Koraput district, two each died in Jajpur and Ganjam districts, and one each in Dhenkanal and Gajapati districts on Friday.

In June 2015, the state government declared lightning a state-specific disaster. Last year, the Odisha government had announced that permission from the forest department was mandatory for cutting palm trees even if in their own backyard.

In a bid to bring down lightning-related deaths in the state, the state government has embarked upon an ambitious plan to plant palm trees across the state.

“Last year, a target to plant 20 lakh palm trees was set, and it has been successfully achieved,” the minister said.. Encouraged by that success, the department has now resolved to scale up the initiative substantially.

“This year, we have decided to invest Rs 5 to Rs 6 crore in planting palm trees across the state,” he added. .

“This is not just a plantation drive, but a life-saving initiative. Our aim is to reduce fatalities due to lightning strikes, especially in rural and semi-urban regions where people are more exposed to open areas during storms,” the minister remarked.

The department will identify vulnerable zones, including open farmlands, village outskirts, and highways, for large-scale plantation. The trees will not only serve a safety purpose but also support the ecological balance and provide long-term benefits to the local environment.