The Odisha government on Saturday confirmed that at least nine persons have lost their lives so far in the state due to scorching heat, while investigation is underway to find out whether 81 more people died due to the intense heat.
According to a report from the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), the government has received 96 reports of heat stroke deaths this summer. Of these, 54 suspected cases have been reported since Friday from seven districts, namely Bolangir (20), Sambalpur (15), Jharsuguda (six), Keonjhar (four), Sonepur (six), Sundergarh (two) and Balasore (one).
According to the report, nine people have been confirmed dead due to heat stroke so far, three of which have occurred in the last 48 hours. During the investigation, the government also found that six deaths were not due to heat stroke.
A joint investigation is being conducted for the remaining 81 deaths, the report said. Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena and SRC Satyabrata Sahu on Saturday held a review meeting on the heat wave situation with all district magistrates except Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Cuttack.
The District Magistrates were directed to ensure implementation of heat wave advisories and precautionary measures issued by the SRC. The situation is being monitored round the clock by the SRC office, the official said.
Scorching heat continued to lash many parts of the state on Saturday, with Titlagarh recording a high of 46 degrees Celsius, followed by Bargarh (45.8 degrees Celsius), Bolangir (45.5 degrees Celsius), Bhawanipatna (44.6 degrees Celsius) and Nuapada (44 degrees Celsius).
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