Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is taking steps to combat heatwave conditions and heatstroke, with the Energy Department directed to ensure continuous power supply, informed Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari.
Replying to a query raised by MLA Sitanshu Sekhar Mohapatra, Pujari informed the House that heatwave action plans are being prepared for 31 urban areas, with 10 already completed. Plans are in place for 30 districts and twin cities. Control rooms have been set up at state and district levels. The 16th Finance Commission has recommended including heatwaves in the national disaster list. Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari informed the assembly about the preparations.
Besides, the Minister listed out the measures include ensuring availability of drinking water at bus stands, markets, and other public places, repairing and maintaining hand pumps and tube wells, stocking life-saving medicines, saline, and ORS packets at health centres to combat heatwave conditions in the state.
Adjusting working hours of employees to avoid peak heat hours, providing cool drinking water and ORS packets to labourers, creating awareness about heatwave prevention through pamphlets and banners, setting up 24-hour control rooms at district and state levels, deploying doctors and paramedical staff to tackle heat-related illnesses among other measures will be in place to tackle up the situation.
The government has also identified heatwave as a state-specific disaster and will provide Rs 50,000 as ex-gratia to the families of those who succumb to heatstroke from State Disaster Relief Fund, maintained Pujari in a written reply.
