Bhubaneswar: As many as 41 persons are suspected to have died of heat-related illness in Odisha including 17 in Sundargarh, 8 in Sambalpur, 7 in Jharsuguda, 6 in Bolangir, and three in other parts of the state.
Among 17 suspected heatstroke deaths in Sundargarh district, Rourkela registered 14 deaths. While 14 persons had died a day back in Rourkela, two more persons died on Friday while undergoing treatment. Besides, 30 others are undergoing treatment at different hospitals in the district.
Among 17 deaths in Sundargarh district, as many as 14 persons have died at Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) while two died at Sundargarh District Headquarters Hospital and one died at Bandhamunda Railway Hospital, sources said.
“It is yet to be established that they have died of heatstroke. Most of them were brought dead in the hospital. Some people had temperatures of 103°F-105°F. Deaths might be linked to heatstroke as the district has been reeling under intense heatwave conditions. Since we don’t know their history it will be difficult to confirm right now. The exact cause of the deaths will be known after post-mortem.” informed Dr Sudharani Pradhan, Superintendent In-Charge RGH.
Meanwhile, the Special Relief Commissioner Satyabrat Sahu talked to the Sundargarh District Collector about the measures being taken to contain such deaths. Panposh Sub-collector and Assistant District Magistrate visited RGH to take stock of the situation. They have been asked to submit a report following a probe.
SRC has also instructed to Collectors of Northern and Southern Division to make strict enforcement of heatwave advisories and appealed to general public to follow the heatwave precautions.
Expressing concern over deaths of so many people, Public Health Director Nilakantha Mishra said, “Bodies of the persons who died due to suspected heatstroke will be sent for post-mortem. Exact reason behind deaths can be ascertained after post-mortem.”
It is pertinent to note that Jharsuguda witnessed the season’s highest temperature at 47 degrees C emerging as the hottest place in the State. Titilagarh, Bargarh and Sambalpur also turned a frying cauldron with 46.5, 46.3 and 46.2 degrees C respectively.
