PATNA/ BHUBANESWAR: At least 74 people, including 25 polling personnel in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, succumbed to heatstroke in the last 48 hours. The maximum casualty was in Odisha, where the suspected heatstroke toll stood at 36. UP followed with 20, Bihar 14, and Jharkhand four.
In UP, 15 poll personnel (13 in Mirzapur district and two in Sonbhadra district) died following high fever and high blood pressure amid heatwave conditions.
As for Bihar, most of the deaths were reported from Bhojpur where five polling personnel succumbed to heatstroke. Three other polling officials died in Rohtas, while Kaimur and Aurangabad districts reported one such death each.
In Odisha, sunstroke fatalities were reported in Rourkela city, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur and Balangir districts. In Jharsuguda, most of the victims were drivers by profession. In Jharkhand, over 1,300 people were admitted to hospitals due to heat-related issues. Heat wave conditions are expected to persist during the last phase of polling on Saturday.
The temperature sensor at Nagpur registered a maximum of 56°Celsius on Thursday, but it was attributed to a sensor error a day later.