More and more lightning detectors, lightning arrestors and the extensive use of Damini app only can help reduce lightning fatalities in Bengal, weather scientists and professors of physics with the Burdwan University have prescribed today.

East Burdwan, an agricultural district, has recorded 14 lightning deaths between 1 April and 30 June this year, which had 30 deaths in the last financial year.

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Damini lightning app is a mobile phone application that provides advanced information about impending lightning probabilities, possible locations and added with thunderbolt. The app was developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology with a private partner using lightning location network (LLN), installed by the IITM itself.

Scientist Dr Sanjib Banerjee, former Eastern Regional head of India Meteorological department, while addressing a convention at the Burdwan University’s Internal Quality Assurance Cell on ‘lightning & safety measures’, said, “Mostly, the farmers busy in cultivation fall victim of lightning in Bengal followed by the children in rural play fields, the construction workers. We need to encourage planting of tall palm trees in certain distances as those work as natural lightning arrestors.” He added: “We’ve installed one lightning detector, which may be increased to tackle the increasing menace of lightning cases.” The Damini app sends alert to people in vulnerable areas after receiving feed from the detector, the scientists said.