Subscribe
Jharkhand is experiencing an increase in the number of deaths due to lightning strikes is increasing, official figures show.
According to the state government, 431 people have lost their lives in the current monsoon period due to weather-based disasters. Of these, 186 people have lost their lives due to lightning strikes alone. Hundreds of animals have died. But there are many such deaths which are not reported.
Jharkhand is one of the six states in India that are most vulnerable to deaths due to thunderstorms and lightning. According to the annual report (2023-24) of the Climate Resilient Observation System Promotion Council (CROPC), at least 1,669 people died in Jharkhand due to lightning during the last decade. The state has faced an average of 436,250 lightning strikes in the last five years. In terms of danger, it is considered to be in the red zone.
The CROPC Annual Report 2021-22 shows that 96 per cent of the deaths due to lightning strikes involve people from villages. Of these, 68-70 per cent are from tribal communities. Thirty-eight per cent of the dead are children.
Recently, three school-going tribal girls died in a lightning strike on August 21 in Hindopidi village under the jurisdiction of Narkopi police station, about 60 km from Ranchi. The deaths have sent shockwaves among the residents of the area.
Colonel Sanjay Srivastava, president of CROPC and Convener of Lightning Safe India Campaign, has been keeping a close eye on Jharkhand along with the rest of India in the light of these incidents.
“In recent times, lightning and cyclones have emerged as one of the most challenging hazards in India. The most severe impact of climate change is the sharp increase in the frequency, intensity and geographical spread of lightning. Governments at the state level need to take swift action for prevention, mitigation and response. Lightning is a unique and instantaneous hazard which occurs in a split second, and the victim does not even know when s/he is struck by lightning. Lightning is different from all other hazards and disasters like drought, flood, etc. Both the government and communities need to develop immediate and appropriate awareness to understand and deal with it,” Col Sanjay Srivastava.
Fifty-two-year-old Dukhan Munda of Degadari Chogagutu village under the jurisdiction of Tamar police station, 60 km from Ranchi district headquarters, died due to a lightning strike on August 17. His wife Indi Devi is a differently-abled person with a leg disability. After the death of her husband, she is in the midst of a host of problems.
Mangal Singh Munda, Dukhan’s nephew, says, “We only have a few pieces of land. Farming is dependent upon rain. My uncle was working in the field. When it started raining, he was returning home to get an umbrella. But lightning him struck on the way and he died. Now the worry is how we will take care of my differently abled aunt? She has no children. There is hope for compensation. But I have no idea when she will get it.”
The state government gives a compensation of Rs 4 lakh in case of death due to lightning. Up to Rs 2 lakh rupees are paid to the injured and Rs 2,100 to Rs 95,100 is paid in case of damage to the house. There is a provision to give Rs 3,000 to Rs 30,000 in case of death of livestock.
Rajesh Sharma, secretary of the Disaster Management Department of the Government of Jharkhand, said adequate funds have been made available to the districts for compensation. The district deputy commissioner takes the lead in matters of disaster management. Apart from this, instructions to comply with the guidelines issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) have been given to all districts from time to time.
However, during conversations with many affected families, it emerged that completing the paperwork for compensation is not always easy. So, these families have to wait for months.
The Centre has approved a mitigation project on lightning security, with a total financial outlay of Rs 186.78 crore for 50 potentially lightning-sensitive districts in 10 Indian states, including Jharkhand, the Union Ministry of Home had informed the Rajya Sabha on August 6 in response to a question related to disasters.
The project aims to reduce lightning-related deaths, livestock losses and infrastructure damages and also to develop self-reliance through research, development, manufacturing and technological advancements in the field of lightning risk management.
According to a top official of the state government, five districts of Jharkhand — Ranchi, Gumla, East Singhbhum, Palamu and Bokaro — have been included in this project. All these districts have been sensitive to incidents of lightning strikes. In the tribal-dominated district of Gumla, 33 people have lost their lives this monsoon. Most of them were tribals. The figures of Ranchi district have also been worrying. According to the additional collector cum disaster management officer of Ranchi district, 43 deaths were recorded here in 2024.
Abhishek Anand, head and senior scientist at the Meteorological Centre, Ranchi, told Down To Earth (DTE), “Jharkhand’s diverse geography, which includes hills, plateaus and forests, creates favourable conditions for thunderstorms and lightning, especially during the pre-monsoon and monsoon periods. Climate change can also be a direct factor in the increasing incidence of thunderstorms.”
A protocol of the National Disaster Management Authority emphasises the need for an effective warning system “to minimise loss of life”. The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, through the mobile apps Damini and Sachet, directly warns the general public about 30-40 minutes before the event. Lightning warnings are also provided through other mobile apps like Mausam, Umang and Meghdoot.
The Ranchi-based Meteorological Department, using numerical weather prediction (NWP) models and synoptic-level analysis, has been issuing thunderstorm and lightning warnings up to five days in advance. These forecasts are provided in multi-hazard colour-coded formats at the meteorological subdivision and district levels and are updated every six hours.
On the question of how effective it is in remote rural and tribal areas; meteorologist Abhishek Anand said the forecasts and warnings issued with colour-coded formats are effective and people also consider them reliable.
Anand added, “Continuous work at the state government level is necessary to reduce the challenges of disaster management, expand rescue operations, run awareness campaigns and use high technology. This disaster cannot be left to the mercy of compensation alone. Many other states are doing much more effective work in this direction.”
Ajay Sharma, a local journalist who has been working at the grassroots level in the tribal-dominated Khunti district, said, “The tribals are not digitally empowered enough to use the apps related to forecasting and warning systems. Therefore, campaigns in video and audio format are necessary to create awareness in the local language with community participation."
Some 14-15 years ago, Jharkhand had set a good example in the field of disaster management by installing lightning conductors in most of its government schools. Naseem Ahmed, spokesperson of the All Jharkhand Primary Teachers’ Union, said, “Over time, the lightning conductors of most schools got damaged or were stolen. The school education department should work afresh in this regard.”
On August 21, three school-going tribal girls — Basmati Oraon, Anjalika Kujur and Pari Oraon — died due to lightning in Hindopidi village, about 60 km from Ranchi. Basmati was 12 years old, Anjalika was five and Pari was four.
“My daughter used to study in Government Middle School, Kullu. After school was over, she came from there to Primary School Hindopidi to pick up her younger brother Rama Oraon. There is a tamarind tree right in front of the school. Two other girls of the village studying in the same primary school, Anjalika and Pari, had gone barely gone three-four furlongs from the school with Basmati when all three girls were struck by lightning. All three families are busy completing the process for compensation,” said Shivnath Bhagat, Basmati’s father.
Nirmala Jayti Kindo, head teacher at Government Primary School Hindopidi, told DTE, “There is no lightning conductor in the school. That day, Basmati’s brother Rama had moved ahead a little, which saved his life. Many children in the school felt tremors at the time of the incident. Attendance of children in the school has gone down after this incident.
There are 35,000 government schools in Jharkhand. Seven million children study in them. On July 23, 2022, six students were seriously injured due to lightning in a school in Bokaro district. At the time, Jharkhand’s then Minister of School Education and Literacy Development Jagarnath Mahato had visited the school and directed the department to install lightning conductors in schools.