1859 People Die of Snakebite in Odisha in Last Two Years: Minister

Bhubaneswar: As many as 1,859 people died of snakebite in the last two years in Odisha, informed Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari to the Assembly on Thursday.

Responding to a question of BJD legislator Subasini Jena, the Minister said that snakebite claimed 1,150 lives in the 2023-24 financial year and 709 lives in the financial year 2024-25.

Pujari further stated that of total snakebite deaths in 2023-24, compensation has been provided to families of 1022 deceased persons, 22 cases have been rejected following verification and 106 are pending in various levels.

Similarly, total 435 deceased persons’ families out of total 709 deaths have been given compensation amount in 2024-25. Eight snakebite death cases have been rejected following investigation and 266 cases are pending in Tahasildar/sub-collector/collector levels due to lack of documents, he added.

Balasore recorded the highest number snakebite deaths at 99 in 2023-24 followed by Cuttack (96) and Ganjam (90). In 2024-25, Cuttack district witnessed 66 snakebite deaths, which is the highest in the state.