ROURKELA: The Rourkela city and the rest of Sundargarh district are in the grip of a severe heatwave with temperature hovering above 43 degree Celsius.
The automatic weather station (AWS) of the IMD at Sundargarh town on Thursday recorded the maximum temperature at 43.6 degree C. Similarly, the AWS on NIT-Rourkela campus, about 105 km from Sundargarh, reported the maximum temperature at 42.2 degree C. The Environment Engineering department of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) recorded the maximum temperature at 43.1 degree C on the day.
Due to the hot weather conditions, streets and marketplaces in Rourkela city are wearing a deserted look in the afternoon with residents preferring to stay indoors.
Sources said the temperature across the Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) jurisdiction usually remains higher than the captive township of RSP or the NIT-Rourkela locality. With the mercury reaching 43 degree C in RMC limits, heating of overhead water tanks has become a problem for residents.
RN Palai of Basanti Colony said the water stored in overhead tanks is heating up significantly during the daytime. Residents have to store water in buckets at least two hours before using it.
Meanwhile, emergency officer of Sundargarh Ashwini Panda said so far, no report of sunstroke related casualty has been received from across the district. The administration has put in place all precautionary measures and is monitoring the situation.
He said instruction has been issued to repair defunct tube-wells immediately and ensure drinking water supply through tankers in rural and urban areas facing scarcity. Labour officials have been asked to ensure that workers are not engaged in outdoor activities during the restricted hours.
Chief district medical and public health officer Dr GP Mahanta said so far, only one patient with complaint of heat exhaustion is undergoing treatment and his condition is stable. Control rooms have been set up at the Sundargarh district headquarters hospital and Rourkela Government Hospital.
Besides, special wards for sunstroke patients have been set up in all rural and urban government healthcare facilities across the district with adequate ORS packets and medicines, he added.