BHUBANESWAR: As hot and extremely humid weather gripped the entire state, the police in the twin city of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack decided to distribute oral rehydration salt (ORS) packets to the traffic personnel who have to endure gruelling hours for duty.
There are 800 traffic personnel in the capital, while about 650 are deployed in neighbouring Cuttack and each of them will be supplied a set of ORS packets for rehydration. “About three to four packets of the ORS will be distributed to each personnel every day in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to make sure they remain hydrated,” said Traffic DCP Tapan Mohanty.
Commissionerate Police has already started supplying drinking water to traffic personnel through two vehicles each in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack twice a day. Each vehicle has a capacity to carry 2,000 litre water. Police are also regularly distributing umbrellas and black sunglasses to the traffic personnel.
Not just humans, since stray animals face extreme dehydration too during summers due to lack of water and shade, BMC came to their rescue by placing water vats at various locations across the city to ensure drinking water is available for the animals.
Meanwhile, the mercury continued to soar with at least 18 stations in the state recording 40-plus degree Celsius on the day. Jharsuguda was the hottest place at 43.6 deg C while Sambalpur and Titilagarh logged 42.5 deg C. In Bhubaneswar, maximum day temperature was 37.9 deg C with humidity levels close to 80 pc. Cuttack was hotter at 38.8 deg C. Across the state, the night temperature remained 22-28 deg C, making life miserable for the people.