Bhubaneswar: Odisha reported 1,859 snakebite deaths during 2023-24 and 2024-25, a minister informed the Assembly Thursday.
“According to the preliminary report, 1,150 people died due to snakebites in 2023-24, while another 709 lost their lives in 2024-25,” state Revenue and Disaster Management (R&DM) Minister Suresh Pujari said.
According to government norms, the department distributes compensation to the family members of victims from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) based on a local-level investigation and post-mortem report, Pujari said while responding to a query by MLA Subasini Jena.
The highest number of snakebite deaths was reported from the Cuttack district (162), followed by Ganjam (155), Balasore (139), Keonjhar (132) and Sundargarh (102). Gajapati district recorded the lowest number of snakebite deaths, with only 10 cases reported during this period, he added.
Out of the 1,150 snakebite deaths reported in 2023-24, compensation has been released to the family members of 1,022 victims, while 22 reports were rejected, and 106 cases remain pending at various levels, Pujari added.
For 2024-25, out of the 709 reported cases, ex gratia payments have been provided to the next of kin of 435 victims, while eight cases were rejected after a thorough probe, and 266 cases are still under investigation, the minister said.
Pujari clarified that the pending cases are under consideration at the tahasildar, sub-collector and collector levels due to delays in obtaining viscera reports and other required documents.
The minister said the Odisha government declared snakebites a state-specific disaster April 1, 2015, and provides ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of each snakebite victim.
The compensation is directly transferred to the bank account of the deceased’s next of kin through the Disaster Assistance Payment and Monitoring System (DAMPS).
PTI
