Patna: Heat strokes claimed nine lives in Bihar in the past 48 hours, the state Disaster Management department (DMD) said on Tuesday. According to a DMD statement, five casualties were reported in Bhojpur, three in Arwal and one in Jehanabad in the last 48 hours.
Bihar Disaster Management Minister Shahnawaz told PTI that over 22 deaths attributed to heat stroke have been found to be caused by other factors. Meanwhile, light rain at a few places in the state provided some relief to people from the scorching heat and also brought down the maximum temperature by two to three degrees Celsius.
Aurangabad district sizzled at 42.1 degrees Celsius, the highest in the state, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, adding Patna recorded a maximum of 40.5 degrees. The mercury had soared past the 45-degrees Celsius mark on June 17.
Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday while chairing a high-level meeting to review public health preparedness to deal with heatwave conditions prevailing in parts of the country, said that a team of officers will be sent to states experiencing heatwaves to assist the state governments.
"A team of experts from the Union Health Ministry, ICMR, IMD and NDMA will visit the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to support them in public health response measures to address heat-related illnesses," the minister said. Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting in the national capital to review the preparedness of public health services for heatwaves across the country.
Underscoring the importance of sturdy and timely preparedness through awareness and early actions, Mandaviya has also directed ICMR to conduct research on how to minimise the effect of heat waves on health, with specific short, medium and long-term action plans.
"The Centre has taken timely measures ahead of the summer season to address the heat wave-related illnesses. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting to review preparedness ahead of the summer season in March while the Union Health Ministry issued a heat wave advisory in February where States were advised to review health facility preparedness in terms of essential medicines, intravenous fluids, packs, ORS, drinking water as well as dissemination of necessary IEC materials," he added.
As per the Ministry of Health, during the meeting, Mandaviya was briefed on the status of heat waves in various states and about the preparedness of Central agencies in terms of the availability of required supplies and hospital infrastructure to provide timely and effective healthcare services. (With Agency Inputs)
