Mumbai: Leader of Opposition and Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar on Wednesday called for a significant increase in compensation for families of those killed by lightning.
“When a farmer or labourer dies due to a lightning strike, the family is left devastated. Currently, the government provides only Rs 4 lakh in aid, which is inadequate. Compensation should be increased to Rs10 lakh,” he demanded.
Wadettiwar pointed out that while victims of tiger attacks receive Rs 25 lakh, lightning victims receive only a fraction of that amount despite being equally vulnerable.
In response, minister Girish Mahajan said that until recently, lightning deaths were not included under the state disaster relief fund, but they are now recognised. “We will consider the suggestion to increase the compensation,” he said.
Meanwhile, the government also announced the development of a new app to alert users when lightning is detected in their vicinity.
