Emergency meetings are on in the state to take stock of the situation and work out plans to monitor proper implementation of measures initiated to deal with the heatwave conditions

Twenty-eight deaths have been reported from the Indian state of Orissa that has been experiencing heatwave conditions for the past few days. Schools in the state have been forced to close a week earlier than normal.

A senior official at the state disaster management control room said reports of 28 deaths, allegedly caused by sunstroke, had been received. Of these, four have been officially confirmed by a joint inquiry by the health and disaster management departments.

While two deaths took place in Angul, the other two were reported from the neighbouring districts of Dhenkanal and Jajpur. The government has announced an ex-gratia assistance of Rs 10,000 for the families of the victims.

In the past week, temperatures in Orissa have hovered around 40 degrees Celsius in the coastal belt, including the cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, while in the Talcher-Angul coal belt, temperatures of 44 degrees Celsius have been recorded -- that’s around seven degrees above normal.

Director of the Bhubaneswar meteorology centre S C Sahoo attributes the unusually high temperatures to north-westerly winds in the area. The humidity in coastal Orissa and the dry air in western Orissa have made the situation worse. Heatwave conditions are likely to continue for another four to five days, he says.

Meanwhile, Special Relief Commissioner N K Sundaray held an emergency meeting to take stock of the situation and work out plans to monitor proper implementation of measures initiated to deal with the heatwave conditions.

Source: The Telegraph, April 23, 2008
             The Hindustan Times, April 23, 2008
            The Statesman, April 23, 2008