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TN lightning deaths: Families demand compensation, solution to avoid tragedy

Victims of a lightning strike in Pudukottai district took to the streets on Wednesday in protest against lack of safety for agricultural labourers who worked without shelters in the state. They have demanded Rs 25 lakh compensation for workers killed in the lightning strike last month and have asked that the government bear medical expenses of those injured.

On October 15, four women farm labourers died and 26 others were hospitalised in Tamil Nadu after they were struck by lightning on an open farm. The victims were working on a groundnut field at Thaneerpandalpatti village in Pudukkottai taluk when the lightning struck. While four women died on the spot, another victim died days after leaving the hospital. The other women, meanwhile, have sustained severe burn injuries and have been unable to work since then

The protest, aimed at bringing attention to their plight, was organised by the All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA) and All India Agricultural and Rural Labourers Association in Pudukkottai

“I have burns all over my hands and chest pain since the lightning hit us,” says 35-year-old Chitra, a farm labourer who was injured. “I wanted to go for the protest but could barely move. But I am glad the others joined. We really need help because the medical expenses are high and I’ve been unable to work since the incident,” she adds

Chitra and the other women had rushed to a temporary tent-like structure near the field they were working on when it started raining. The women don’t remember when the lightning struck but the damage was evident when they began to faint

Kavita Krishnan, the Secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association, who was present at the protest march, tells TNM, “Over 50 women  led the march and we demanded that the families of the deceased be given Rs 25 lakh and pucca houses. They were earning members of the family and their loss would be devastating financially and emotionally. The government should pay for quality medical treatment for the extensive burns sustained by the injured as well.”

(Pic courtesy: Twitter/Kavita Krishnan)

Kavita points out that across the country, farm labourers are mostly women and from the Dalit community.

“These open fields do not have shelters in case of an emergency and women are given no protection while at the workplace. This is a workplace hazard that must be corrected,” she says.

This accident caused by a natural phenomenon, while shocking, is not new to Tamil Nadu. According to the National disaster management authority (NDMA), between 2011 and 2015 alone, 500 people in Tamil Nadu died due to lightning strikes.

Going beyond just numbers, the NDMA, in 2018, came up with directives for states to follow in order to prevent further such deaths. However, TNM has learnt that despite the continuing fatalities, the Tamil Nadu government and state disaster management authority (SDMA) is yet to implement the eight steps charted by the NDMA to develop an action plan to deal with thunderstorms and lightning.

This includes steps such as government engagement to form a dedicated policy decision committee to discuss strategy,  appointing a State Nodal Department and officer to oversee the action plan and Vulnerability assessment to identify vulnerable areas, assets and populations in order to establish priorities areas for Early Warning, forecast/ alerts activities.

The state was further told to coordinate with the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) to develop reliable and accurate localised early warnings and dissemination plan. At the micro-level, the NDMA had called for hazard-zoning where areas must be clearly marked, as to whether it is vulnerable to mild, moderate or intensive hazard and the probable cost of damage to crops from the squall events or thunderstorm of different intensity. The state government was also told to map lightning affected zones based on the data if deaths available with the NCRB.

Also read: Tamil Nadu govt still does not have a plan to prevent lightning deaths

Source: The News Minute