Over 100 people in Uttar Pradesh have died from heat-related illnesses over the last several days while Bihar has reported over 45 fatalities, according to news reports and health officials. Odisha reported one confirmed death on Sunday.
UP’s Ballia district hospital has reported at least 68 heat-related deaths in five days until Monday.
It was reported that at least 44 people, admitted to that particular hospital, died between June 15 and 16 with scorching heat aggravating their pre-existing ailments. Officials said that most of the patients were over the age of 60.
On June 16, Ballia reported a maximum temperature of 42.2 degrees Celsius, which is 4.7 C above normal, as per IMD data.
On June 18, Ballia’s Chief Medical Officer Jayant Kumar was removed from his post, after his on-record statement saying many of the deaths were due to heatstroke went viral.
He has been removed for "giving a careless statement on deaths caused by heatwave without having proper information", UP Health Minister Brajesh Pathak said.
Jayant Kumar had told The Associated Press on June 17 that "all the individuals were suffering from some ailments and their conditions worsened due to the extreme heat," He had said that most of the deaths were because of heart attack, brain stroke and diarrhea.
Officials have been offering divergent explanations for the deaths. A committee from the health department in Lucknow is investigating the cases of deaths in Ballia district.
Lucknow Health Director Dr AK Singh said that most of the patients have been complaining of chest pain, difficulty in breathing, and then fever.
He told ANI that the other patients admitted included those who already had some prior illness and added that they would be able to confirm if they were heat-related deaths only after sample testing.
The sudden increase in deaths and patients being admitted to hospitals with fever, breathing trouble, and other issues have overwhelmed the Ballia district hospital.
“So many people are dying from the heat that we are not getting a minute’s time to rest. On Sunday, I carried 26 dead bodies,” Jitendra Kumar Yadav, a hearse driver in Deoria town, 110 kilometers from Ballia, told The Associated Press.
Chief Medical Superintendent (CMS) of the hospital Diwakar Singh claimed that fans, coolers and air conditioners have been arranged in the hospital to prevent the risk of heat stroke for patients and staff.
On June 18, 40-year-old traffic police sub-inspector Vinod Sonkar died after fainting on duty near Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya due to severe heat, police said.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav blamed the state government for the deaths.
"So many people across UP have lost lives because of the carelessness of the state govt. They should have warned the people about the heatwave. Not a single district hospital has been built in UP in the last 6 years. Those who have lost their lives are poor farmers because they did not receive food, medicines and treatment on time," he said.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Monday had told officials to ensure no unnecessary power cuts happen in the state and said there should be a provision to purchase more electricity if needed.
There should be no shortage of drinking water and arrangements should be made for drinking water in all municipal bodies and rural areas besides the markets and on the main roads, he told officials.
The Odisha government on Sunday had confirmed its first heat wave-related death and sanctioned an ex gratia of Rs 50,000 for the deceased's family. The victim is a middle-aged person from Balasore district. A senior official at the Special Relief Commissioner's (SRC) office told PTI that the state has so far received allegations of 20 deaths due to heat waves.
On Tuesday, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had asked a team of experts to visit the affected areas in UP and Bihar. The minister then chaired a high-level meeting on public health preparedness for heatwave management across the country.
Toll keeps rising as heat wave continues
Heat strokes claimed nine more lives in Bihar on Monday and Tuesday, the state Disaster Management Department (DMD) said. Five casualties were reported in Bhojpur, three in Arwal, and one in Jehanabad in the last 48 hours.
However, Bihar Disaster Management Minister Shahnawaz told PTI that over 22 deaths in the state attributed to heat stroke have been found to be caused by other factors.
Bihar is currently in the grip of a scorching heatwave that has broken the record of 11 years.
The mercury crossed the 43-degree Celsius mark or more at several places in the state on Monday, with Aurangabad recording the highest maximum temperature of 44.7 degrees Celsius. The mercury had soared past the 45-degrees Celsius mark on June 17.
IMD scientist Naresh Kumar told ANI that Delhi, Punjab and Haryana will witness temperatures up to 40-45 degrees in the upcoming days.
Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, too, are facing heat wave-like conditions. Many states have extended summer vacations in view of the heat wave condition.
A study by World Weather Attribution found that a searing heat wave in April that struck parts of South Asia was made at least 30 times more likely by climate change.
AAP blames power cuts amid heatwave for UP deaths
Meanwhile, AAP's Rajya Sabha member and in-charge of the Uttar Pradesh Sanjay Singh alleged in a press conference that the people of UP are suffering due to power cuts.
"People are losing their lives due to power cuts amid the scorching heat. The deaths that have taken place due to the heat in the state are actually murders. The government should give compensation and jobs to the affected families," he said.
The AAP leader claimed that "137 people have died in Gorakhpur so far due to heat, 33 people have died in Basti division while 104 people have died in Ballia alone".
Singh also announced that the Aam Aadmi Party would launch a mass movement in all the districts on June 22 against the frequent power cuts in the state.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI, AP)