Odisha sounds heatwave alert in coastal districts

While Bhubaneswar remained the hottest place in the State for the second consecutive day at 43.2 degrees Celsius, temperature soared beyond 40 degrees in at least 13 other Odisha towns including Chandbali (41.7), Cuttack (41.4), Angul (40.9), Baripada (41.5), Jharsuguda (40), Keonjhar (40.3), Sambalpur (41.2), Hirakud (43.1), Talcher (42), Bhawanipatna (42.2), Balangir (42), Titlagarh (42.5) and Dhenkanal (41.1).

“Till April 5, the wind flow towards Odisha was from the south and south-west direction at 25-30 kmph. But the direction of wind has changed to west and north-west since last 24 hours from Central and north-western India where the temperature has gone up to 40 degree Celsius and above since last 4-5 days. Temperature in these regions was normal for some days due to sporadic rainfall and the wind flow from the west direction. Due to the change of the wind direction, the hot wind has started blowing towards coastal Odisha resulting in the further rise in the day temperature. Though there is a possibility of northwester in Khurda, Puri, Nayagarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts in next 24 hours, heatwave conditions will continue to prevail,” he said.

He said the wind flowing from west and north-west direction and moving towards the coastal region through Jharsuguda in western Odisha carried more heat from the dry land surface. This is leading to abnormal rise in daytime temperature in coastal Odisha.

Wary of the heatwave deaths, the State government has already asked the schools in the State to ensure no classes are held after 10.30 am. The Labour and Welfare department has been asked to ensure that there is no labour intensive work from 11 AM to 3.30 PM. The health department has been asked to open heat stroke wards in all district headquarters hospital to provide first aid to the patients. Last year 28 persons in the State died due to heatwave. Since last year, State government has increased ex-gratia assistance for heatwave deaths from Rs 10000 to Rs 50000.

While over 2000 residents of Dhirukuti basti in Mancheshwar area of Bhubanewar are facing severe water crisis, several areas of Cuttack city too are experiencing water shortage. According to the State Fourth Finance commission report, around 55, 186 villagers in Odisha do not have access to drinking water. In urban areas 145 wards in the State don’t have access to drinking water facilities.