Titlagarh town in Odisha reels under heatwave conditions: Power cut derails normal life

Odisha on Saturday recorded two more sunstroke deaths while Titlagarh, in the western part of the state, recorded 48 degree Celsius, making it the hottest place in the country. In view of the prevailing heat wave condition, the state government has issued an advisory asking people to remain indoors between 11 am and 3 pm, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Mohapatra said. The state government on Saturday confirmed two more sunstroke deaths taking the official death toll due to heat related incidents to four. Of the four sunstroke deaths, three were reported from Angul district and one from Bolangir, a SRC official said. “Titlagarh in Odisha’s Bolangir district is the hottest place in the country with the mercury reaching 48 degree C,” IMD director Sarat Sahu told PTI. [caption id=“attachment_2745946” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A village boy baths in the remaining water of a dried pond to beat the heat in the outskirts of the eastern Indian city Bhubaneswar, India. Getty Images[/caption] According to a report in The Hindu, residents of Titlagarh choose to stay inside their homes after 11 am. However, staying indoors doesn’t solve much as intermittent power cut further adds to their discomfort. Engineers, on the other hand, are working overtime to handle drinking water projects because of the worsening drought situation in most districts of the state, reported The Hindu.  Titlagarh was followed by Talcher (46.8) and Sonepur (46)in western Odisha. Though nine towns in the state experienced temperatures above 44 deg C on Friday, it has now increased to 15 places in the state. A total of 18 towns and cities reeled under the heat with temperature above 40 degree C. The places which recorded temperature above 44 degree C were: Balasore (44.2), Baripada (45.3), Sambalpur (45), Sundergarh (44), Hirakud (44.3), Talcher (46.8), Bhawanipatna (45), Bolangir (45.2), Malkangiri (44.2), Sonepur (46) and Titlagarh (48). Bhubaneswar recorded 41.5 deg C with relative humidity at 92 per cent. “The heat wave condition is most likely to prevail till occurrence of hailstorms on or after April 25,” Sahu said, adding the temperature could further rise on 24 and 25 April. Meanwhile, the SRC said the state government has so far received reports of 79 sunstroke deaths. “However, four of the death cases have been confirmed due to heat related incidents by the district collectors,” Mohapatra said. The state government has decided to provide Rs 50,000 as ex-gratia for the families of each sunstroke victim.