Sambalpur: The western region of Odisha is like a boiling cauldron. Recording a temperature of 44.8°C Tuesday, Titilagarh in Bolangir district topped the list of hottest places in the state so far.
Some of the other places where the maximum day temperatures literally roasted the people Tuesday were: Sambalpur 43°C; Hirakud 42.1°C; Jharsuguda 43.8°C; Sundargarh 42°C; Bhawanipatna 42.2°C; Bolangir 43.5°C; and Sonepur 44°C. The plight of rural people is beyond description as most of the villages have power cuts during the daytime these days.
As almost all the urban areas are boiling with temperature above 40°C in the first week of May, it is feared that the maximum daytime temperature in the region may reach 50°C this year.
People prefer to remain indoors after 11 am till the evening. As a result, it’s just an undeclared curfew-like situation in most of the urban places with roads deserted and shops’ shutters down.
Meanwhile, ASHA and Anganwadi Workers (AWW) Association convener Prashant Padhi has demanded the state government to provide temporary relief for its members from the extreme weather condition.
He also requested the state government to close all the Anganwadi centres for the time being to protect women and children from the excessive heat. Though the government has declared early summer vacation for all the government schools, some private educational institutions are still in operation defying the government advisory despite such adverse weather conditions, he said.
Odisha is vulnerable to sunstroke casualties that used to take its toll every year. But there is a substantial reduction in sunstroke deaths in recent years as the awareness level has increased.
People are seen using umbrellas, caps and gamuchha to protect themselves from heat. They are also seen carrying water bottles whenever they go out these days. The welcome change is largely due to awareness campaigns organized by the state government before the onset of summer each year.
The first sunstroke death of this summer season was reported to have occurred in Kusumdihi village of Rengali block in Sambalpur district April 18. The victim was Kishor Rohidas (38). It is feared that there might be some more such occurrences but they may not be included in the official record.
