Hyderabad: As many as 41 people died due to suspected heatstroke as several states from northern state Bihar to central state Madhya Pradesh sizzled under scorching sun with an already soaring mercury rising up to 47°C during these two days.
Among states, Bihar witnessed maximum casualties. Nearly 19 people, including many police personnel, died due to intense heatwave conditions in the last 48 hours in Bihar. An alert for severe heatwave has been issued by the Meteorological Department. A Bihar Military Police personnel died during flag march in Nawanagar police station area in Buxar on Wednesday and a sub-inspector passed away in Rohtas due to heat stroke.
SP Manish Kumar said the health condition of the BMP personnel, posted in the Gorkha regiment, started deteriorating while he was undertaking a flag march after which, he was taken to a hospital, where doctors pronounced him brought dead. Sub-inspector Devnath Ram, resident of Bihiya in Bhojpur, posted in the police line in Dehri in Rohtas died after he fell ill due to the scorching heat.
Odisha also recorded 10 casualties, with all of them dying of suspected heatstroke in state's Rourkela city. According to the director-in-charge (DIC) of Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH), Dr Sudharani Pradhan, the deaths occurred within a span of six hours from 2 pm onwards.
She said eight people were dead by the time they reached the hospital, while the rest died while undergoing treatment at hospitals. The body temperatures were around 103-104 degrees Fahrenheit, which is very high given the weather conditions, she added.
These deaths came amid heat wave conditions that prevailed across Odisha, particularly the western region, as temperatures soared to more than 44 degrees Celsius in 12 places on Thursday. The IMD in its evening bulletin said as many as 19 places in the state recorded a maximum temperature of more than 40 degrees C.
Rajasthan too bore the brunt of the heatwave as it claimed five lives so far. Director (Public Health) Dr Ravi Prakash Mathur said despite the intense heat, the medical and health department had already begun the required preparations from March. "So far, five deaths have occurred due to heat wave in the state," Mathur said.
He, however, added that the number of deaths due to heat wave being reported by media are "beyond facts". "Death Audit Committee investigates suspicious deaths due to heat stroke as per the parameters set by the Government of India. According to these parameters, if any death is found to be due to heat stroke, it is certified and its report is sent to Integrate Health Information (IHIP) portal. Only the figures released on the IHIP portal are authentic," the officer said.
In Jharkhand's Palamu district, at least four people, including a woman, died due to heatwave-related symptoms as the district recorded the state's highest maximum temperature at 47.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday, an official said.
"Three persons died during treatment at a hospital, while one died outside the hospital. The patients were suffering from heatwave-related complications," Palamu civil surgeon Dr Anil Kumar Singh said.
He said that around 10 people with heatwave-related ailments are undergoing treatment at the district hospital. In a bid to deal with heatwave conditions, a rapid action team was also formed, he said.
On Wednesday, two deaths were reported from Garhwa district due to heatwave-related ailments. Madhya Pradesh also witnessed of two children, who died reportedly of heatstroke in Gwalior on Thursday. The two children, who were siblings, had gone to get medicines with their mother and grandmother in an autorickshaw.
The two children, a boy and a girl, were aged 12 and 14 years. The children's father Rambabu Shakya said, “I was out for work. They left from home around 9-9.30 am to get medicines. When they returned, they fell ill and died. My mother and wife were with them. They died of heatstroke.”
Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr RK Rajoriya said the children were brought dead to the hospital. In Uttar Pradesh, a woman died and her son was hospitalised due to suspected heat stroke here on Thursday, police said. Kishori Devi (58), a resident of Chandigarh, was returning home from Chhapra in Bihar in the Harihar Express train with her son Pradeep Mahto and daughter Sarita when her and her son's condition deteriorated, Railway Protection Force (RPF) officials said.
Sarita said her mother was fine till the train reached Varanasi. As the train left from Varanasi, her mother suddenly started vomiting. She claimed that she informed the TTE but the train did not stop and her mother was not treated. By the time the train reached Sultanpur railway station, Kishori Devi fainted and Pradeep's condition also worsened, Sarita claimed.
Both of them were immediately taken to the railway hospital. However, seeing their critical condition, the doctors referred them to the Government Medical College where Kishori Devi was declared dead.
In eight out of the 12 districts in Himachal Pradesh, high temperatures threw normal life out of gear. A record maximum temperature of 46 degrees was recorded in Una and it is stated to be two degrees above normal temperature. This is the first time since 2012 that Una recorded such a high temperature. In 2012, a temperature of 45 degrees was recorded in Una.
According to Meteorological Centre, Himachal' capital city Shimla has also recorded the highest temperature since 2006. This time, even the Himalayan mountains have not been spared from the scorching heat. A temperature of more than 31 degrees was recorded Shimla, according to the weather office.
Many districts of Rajasthan are facing water scarcity and due to extreme heat. Salt is produced in the Sambhar Lake area of Dudu district and excessive amount of saline and fluoride-rich water is found. In such a situation, many organizations are coming forward to solve drinking water crisis. They are providing pure drinking water by developing tanks to conserve rainwater in homes. So far 2500 tanks have been built in 30 villages of Sambhar Lake area. In the next 4 to 5 years, their target is to build tanks in every house of more than 60 villages, so that there will be no water crisis during heatwave conditions and the wastage of rainwater can be stopped.
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