Dikhyaa Mohanty 
In an effort to lessen the harm that lightning strikes do, the Odisha government intends to plant at least 20 lakh palm trees. The departments of agriculture and forest management in Odisha will work together to plant these trees throughout the state. A survey found a correlation between the increase in lightning strikes throughout the state and the decrease of palm trees.
Speaking to the media, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said, “Lightning-related deaths are increasing day by day, and Odisha has one of the highest death rates due to lightning strikes in India. According to reports, at least 300 lives have been lost in Odisha due to lightning.” He further said that the mission to plant around 20 lakh palm trees has already commenced.
“To tackle this situation, we have initiated a mission to plant palm trees across the state, as they act as good conductors. We have already started the mission to plant around 20 lakh palm trees, with the effort led by the forest department,” he further said.
He went on to say that the ultimate objective was to have no lightning-related deaths in Odisha. Furthermore, we are worried about schools where improper installation of earthing has resulted in lightning-related fatalities. Our goal this year is to plant about 20 lakh palm trees, thus our main concentration is on locations that are more susceptible to lightning strikes.”
