Bhubaneswar: Odisha saw a rise in deaths due to accidental fire caused by electric short-circuit in 2019. The latest report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides’ for 2019 revealed that the state tops the list of states with the highest number of deaths caused by electric short circuit while it is among the top three states with most deaths due to accidental fire in 2019.
As many as 970 accidental fires in Odisha during 2019 resulted in deaths of 971 persons that included 768 male and 203 females. Only Kerala and Madhya Pradesh saw more deaths. Meanwhile, the number of male victims in Odisha due to fire accidents far exceeded the number elsewhere during 2019.
Similarly, fire due to electric short circuit resulted in deaths of 279 persons including 265 male and 14 females in 2019 – the highest in the country. Odisha reported only 12 and 11 deaths due to fire caused by short circuit in 2018 and 2017 respectively. The state recorded 23 times more casualties due to short circuit fire in 2019 as compared to the previous year’s toll of just 12.
Uttar Pradesh recorded 188 deaths and 48 injuries in as many as 224 fire incidents due to electric short circuit during the same year.
The report also revealed that 1,466 persons died due to natural causes in 2019 as compared to 1196 in 2018. The number of deaths due to lightning declined to 271 in 2019 from 299 in 2018. The report also brought to the fore a continuous spike in the number of deaths due to venomous snakebites. As many as 1,047 persons comprising 801 males and 246 females fell victim to snakebites in the state in 2019. The toll under this category was 973 in 2018 and 844 in 2017.
Similarly, other animals killed 112 while reptiles killed 16 persons in 2019. 106 persons died after they accidentally ate poisonous insects in 2019.
Meanwhile, fewer deaths happened due to drowning in 2019 as compared to the previous year. As many as 1,234 persons drowned in 2019 as compared to 1,275 in 2018. Boat capsize incidents drastically dropped in 2019. However, 443 persons died after they fell into water in 2019 as against 375 in 2018.
No farmer ‘suicide’
The report claimed that no farmer has committed suicide in the state during 2019. This ran counter to a statement made by a minister on the floor of Assembly that two farmers had committed suicide in the state. Meanwhile, various political parties accused the state government of suppressing facts related to farmers’ suicides after similar claims by the NCRB report in 2018 as well.
