Palm Sunday

With assistance from Irina Voronina:

Times of India, Over 19 lakh palm trees to act as lightning arresters 

Amita Tarai, in her own words, has always been kind towards nature and is often looking for empty space, however small that may be, so that she can plant saplings and add to the area's greenery, thus fulfilling her wish of leaving behind a safe environment for her future generations. So it was of no surprise when the resident of Jharakata village (located near Chilika Lake in Puri district) chanced upon a news article on palm trees acting as lightning arresters and decided to take up its plantation to protect her fellow villagers.

What started out as a one-woman show in 2018 has now become a community project of sorts in her hamlet with many women joining her in planting saplings of palm trees and in seven years, around one lakh trees have been planted. "From Satapada in Puri district to Prayagi in Ganjam district, we plant trees wherever we find govt land with open space," 36-year-old Tarai, who is a member of govt's Mission Shakti programme, said.

Tarai and her group of women keep a record of the planted saplings to calculate their retention rate and more than 90% of the palm trees are standing tall even today. "Being the wife of a farmer, I know how vulnerable agricultural workers are to lightning strikes. The women in my village and I are determined to protect people from such strikes," Tarai added."

Due to their considerable height and high water content, palm trees effectively channel lightning bolts, helping safeguard both individuals and buildings from dangerous strikes. The strategic placement of such trees has shown success in minimising lightning-related casualties and property damage in susceptible regions," Odisha Environment Society's working president Jayakrushna Panigrahi said, adding that urbanisation has led to a decline in traditional palm tree cultivation in villages.

Earlier this year, the state forest, environment and climate change department announced plans to designate palm trees as a ‘scheduled' species, launching an intensive plantation drive aimed at reducing lightning-related fatalities across Odisha.

Interesting, in the US you're generally advised to stay out from under tall trees in a thunderstorm.

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