Odisha Government to Plant 19 Lakh Palm Trees to Combat Lightning Strikes

To shield its residents from lightning strikes, the Odisha government has announced plans to plant almost 19 lakh palm trees this fiscal year.

Before taking down a palm tree, citizens are asked by the authorities to get permission.

Debidutta Biswal, principal chief conservator of forests, emphasized the importance of palm trees in saving lives by saying that they are the tallest trees in their areas and make good lightning arrestors. One of the most important decisions in lowering the amount of lightning-related fatalities is planting these trees.

3,790 persons in Odisha have died as a result of lightning strikes in the past 11 years. Ninety percent of the victims are from the state's rural areas.

According to Biswal, chopping palm trees was not previously prohibited. But we've discovered that there was widespread palm tree chopping, which resulted in deforestation, due to the absence of regulations. We wish to control it now. Even if you own a palm tree, you should still get permission from the forest department before cutting it down. Palm trees will be subject to the same legal restrictions as sal and teak trees. It will also result in fines.

"We will go for a massive palm tree plantation, and about 19 lakh trees will be planted," he stated. This account will be funded with about ₹7.5 crore. The idea has received approval from the Special Relief Commission (SRC). The state will plant four palm palms on the grounds of every forest block.

The forest department also believes that increasing the number of trees planted will help address the elephants' food shortage. An authority stated, "Palm leaves and their fruits—dates—are good for elephants."

In order to gather data regarding lightning strikes, the state government has partnered with the Indian Institute of Tropical Management (IITM), located in Pune. "We made the information of the lightning strike in Odisha public based on the report from IITM Pune. The earth network system has been implemented throughout the entirety of Odisha. In addition, IITM Pune has a proprietary network.

Additionally, Odisha has partnered with Earth Networks, a US-based company, to receive lightning early warnings. They have established lightning detection centers and are sending us alerts and warnings about potential lightning strikes. We are sharing them through several channels, most notably the GPS system. An official stated that it is developing a location-based system (LBS).

According to a scientist at the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Office, earth networks cover the majority of Odisha. After analyzing the cloud wave pattern, it sends the information to the computer. The computer calculates the total number of lightning strikes in a specific location at a specific time using a mathematical formula. When the monsoon is ending, there are more lightning strikes.