At least 25 polling staff succumbed to heat-related conditions on Friday, ahead of the final phase of voting in the Lok Sabha Elections. While 15 polling personnel succumbed to heatwave in Uttar Pradesh, 10 were killed in Bihar.
As heatwave conditions gripped a large swathe of the country, at least 40 suspected heat-related deaths were reported. According to officials, heat-related deaths were reported from Odisha (10), Bihar (8), Jharkhand (4) and Uttar Pradesh (1) on Thursday also. Rajasthan has reported at least five heat-related deaths so far. Among the fatalities recorded on Friday, the maximum 17 were from Uttar Pradesh, 14 from Bihar, five from Odisha and four from Jharkhand, where officials said more than 1,300 people are hospitalised with heatstroke conditions.
15 poll personnel die in UP
Thirteen poll personnel deployed Mirzapur district died following high fever and high blood pressure amid heatwave conditions in the region. Twenty-three others were admitted in hospital. Two more people on election duty died and nine taken ill of suspected heat stroke in Sonbhadra district, a senior official said on Friday.
Dr Raj Bahadur Kamal, the principal of Mirzapur's Maa Vindhyavasini Autonomous State Medical College, said that 13 poll staff died at the hospital. The deceased include seven home guard jawans, three sanitation workers, one clerk posted at the Chief Medical Officer's office, one chakbandi adhikaari (consolidation officer), and one peon in the home guard team. He said they were brought to the facility with high fever and high blood pressure.
The state's Chief Electoral Officer asked district authorities to make necessary arrangements at all polling stations to protect the personnel and voters from the scorching heat. In a statement issued here on Friday, Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said that "during the departure of polling parties on May 31, information was received about polling personnel being affected by heatwave in some districts". Rinwa directed the district authorities to ensure polling stations have arrangements for cold drinking water, adequate shade, fans and sitting arrangements for the elderly, women and disabled.
10 poll personnel, among 14 dead in Bihar
Fourteen people, including 10 polling personnel, have died due to heatstroke in Bihar in the last 24 hours, officials said on Friday afternoon. In a statement, the Disaster Management Department said that most of the fatalities were reported from Bhojpur district, where five officials on election duty died of heatstroke. Three election officials died in Rohtas, and one each died in Kaimur and Aurangabad districts. Four other people died in different parts of the state. The process of granting ex-gratia to the families of the deceased has been initiated, said the statement. Due to the heatwave conditions, all schools, coaching institutes and anganwadi centres were shut till June 8.
Temperatures at record high
According to the India Meteorological Department, the Kanpur (IAF) weather station recorded the maximum temperature in the country at 48.2. Haryana's Sirsa was the second hottest place at 47.8 degree Celsius. Delhi's Ayanagar recorded the maximum temperature for the city at 47 degrees Celsius.
Overall, the IMD said heatwave to severe heatwave conditions prevailed over many parts of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh; in some parts of Bihar, east Madhya Pradesh; in isolated pockets of Odisha, Jharkhand.
Heatwave conditions also prevailed in some parts of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Vidarbha, West Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Heat wave conditions have been prevailing over Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi. These conditions are likely to abate during the next two-three days, the India Meteorological Department said the prevailing heatwave.
The soaring temperatures also caused water scarcity in some parts of the country including in Delhi where the residents faced continued acute shortages, with people in long queues struggling to secure enough to meet their daily needs.
5 casualties in Odisha, 4 in Jharkhand
The Odisha government, meanwhile, Friday confirmed five sunstroke-related deaths so far, while an inquiry into 18 more casualties suspected to be linked to heat-related illness is currently underway.
Four persons died of sunstroke in Jharkhand on Friday, while 1,326 others were admitted to hospital amid sweltering heat in most parts of the eastern state, officials said.
All district hospitals and other medical facilities have been asked to set aside air-conditioned rooms and empty beds for heatstroke patients, they said.
Meanwhile, the IMD said the Southwest Monsoon has advanced into remaining parts of northeast Bay of Bengal and some parts of northwest Bay of Bengal, remaining parts of Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam and most parts of Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim.
(With PTI inputs.)
