Disaster Management and Relief Adviser Farooq-e-Azam Bir Pratik has said the government has attached priority on an “early warning system” to make people aware of their safety during thunderbolts.
“Lightning occurs naturally. We are trying to inform the people through an early warning system to let them know when and where thunderbolts will strike,” he told BSS on Saturday.
The adviser said the deaths and injuries of poor people due to lightning are unexpectedly rising. “If the poor people become victims of lightning strikes, they should be compensated,” he observed.
Farooq-e-Azam said the government is working on how to reach farmers and common people with an early warning system of lightning through mobile phones, as farmers no longer go to the fields with radios and TVs.
Considering the trend and mortality rate of lightning in Bangladesh, the government declared lightning a “disaster” through a notification in 2015.
The Disaster Management and Relief Ministry assigned the Department of Meteorology of Dhaka University to conduct a feasibility study to protect people, animals, infrastructure, electrical installations and equipment, etc. from lightning.
According to the study report of the Department of Meteorology of Dhaka University, 15 districts in the country are most vulnerable to lightning. The districts are-Netrakona, Kishoreganj, Jamalpur, Mymensingh, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Rajshahi, Nawabganj, Pabna, Naogaon, Sirajganj, Bogra, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat and Dinajpur.
The adviser said the previous government amended the Rural Infrastructure Maintenance (TR) policy and spent money to install “lightning rods and lightning arresters” in the 15 districts to prevent loss of life from lightning.
But the present government scrapped the initiative as installing lightning rods or lightning arresters is not very effective in the context of Bangladesh.
“Those devices work only in a 100-meter radius. So how many rods are needed for the entire country? That is why we think it is better to make people aware of lightning instead of installing lightning rods,” he said.
He added that since the opportunity to take precautions in advance has come, the government is paying attention to that.
“Taking the help of technology, it is possible to know two hours in advance where and when lightning is happening. In many cases, we can know about the strike two to four hours in advance,” he said.
The adviser said, several meetings have been held in the ministry with experts from the relevant sectors in this regard.
A final decision to this end will be taken on a priority basis, he said.
