The surge in lightning deaths nationwide - 72 lives lost in just the first four months of the current year - is a tragedy that must not be dismissed as mere misfortune.
Lightning has become one of the deadliest natural hazards in Bangladesh but remains one of the least understood and least addressed. With dozens dying every year, it is tragic that awareness, infrastructure, and preparedness all remain woefully inadequate.
Deaths due to lightning strikes are not only an issue of fate - they are also an issue of neglect.
Too many people continue to work in open fields, fish in rivers, or travel without protection during storms, unaware or unbothered of the risks.
Villages lack safe shelters, schools rarely teach lightning safety, and public campaigns are minimal if any at all.
The end result for a nation as densely populated as ours is predictable: Preventable deaths that repeat year after year.
Raising awareness must be the first step. Citizens need clear, accessible information on how to protect themselves -- seeking shelter, avoiding open spaces, and understanding the dangers of metal objects and water during storms.
The government, for its part, must also treat lightning with the seriousness it warrants. Protective infrastructure, integration of lightning safety into disaster preparedness programs, and sustained public education campaigns are all essential.
To ignore the dozens of preventable deaths as a result of lightning is to accept needless loss of life. Lightning cannot be prevented, but its toll can be reduced. Awareness, infrastructure, and policy can save lives, and we must act and not take lightning lightly.
