416 fire-related deaths over last 3 years: Pujari
Bhubaneswar: Odisha minister Suresh Pujari on Thursday informed the Assembly that 416 people have lost their lives in fire accidents across the State over the last three financial years. Property worth Rs 27.84 crore and 2,537 houses were damaged in the fire incidents during 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25, Pujari said in a written reply to a question by BJD legislator Arun Kumar Sahoo.
The Revenue and Disaster Management Minister said 192 people died in fire accidents in 2022-23, while 118 and 106 deaths were reported in the subsequent two financial years. “In case of death due to fire-related accidents, an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh is being provided to the next of kin of the deceased in accordance with the norms of the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF),” he said.
“According to norms, a financial assistance of Rs 16,000 is being provided to injured fire victims who remain under treatment in hospital for more than a week and Rs 5,400 to those who remain under hospital care for less than a week,” he added. In case of complete damage of a house in a fire accident, financial assistance of Rs 1.30 lakh is provided in hilly areas and Rs 1.20 lakh in plain areas. Similarly, assistance of Rs 6,500 and Rs 4,000 is provided for damage to pucca and kutcha houses, respectively, Pujari said.
Altogether, 6,578 people were killed due to lightning, drowning and snakebite in Odisha in the last two financial years, Pujari told the Assembly. In a reply to a question from MLA Chakramani Kanhar, the minister said 3,439 people died in such incidents in the 2023-24 financial year, and 3,139 in 2024-25. During the two years, 3,860 people drowned in different water bodies, while lightning strikes claimed 600 lives and 2,118 people were killed after being bitten by venomous snakes, he said. In 2015, the Odisha government had declared heatwave, lightning, boat capsize, tornado, heavy rain, drowning, snakebite and fire as state-specific disasters, providing assistance to victims from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).
