As toll mounts to 180, Section 144 imposed, schools closed, all public activities put off
Despite respite in northern States, including Punjab and Haryana, from heatwave, Bihar continues to reel under a searing heatwave which has swept most parts of the province, killing around 180 people in the State.
The prevailing situation has prompted the Nitish Kumar Government to order closure of academic activities in all schools till June 22, officials said on Monday.
Though the MeT Department on Monday said rain and thunderstorm have brought down the mercury and there will be no heatwave conditions this week in northern States, including Punjab and Haryana, an alert has been issued by the Bihar Government in the wake of the rising death toll.
People have been advised to take care while stepping outside. The administration in Gaya, Aurangabad and Nawada districts has imposed Section 144 of the CrPC to force the public to stay indoors so that they don’t fall victim to the killer heatwave.
Even works under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) have been stopped after 10.30 am.
The Gaya district administration has banned any cultural programme or gathering in open spaces, between 11 am and 4 pm. Majority of heatwave deaths have been reported from Aurangabad, Gaya and Nawada districts, where temperatures hovered around 45 degrees Celsius for the past three weeks.
Five people have died in Munger in the last 48 hours, while 60 people have died due to heatwave condition in Aurangabad. In Gaya, the number of deaths due to heatwave is 35, while it is seven in Nawada, two in Kaimur, one in Arrah, one in Samastipur and six in Nalanda.
Gaya and Patna recorded temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius on Saturday. On Monday, temperature recorded in Gaya and Aurangabad was 42 and 43 degrees Celsius respectively.
A heatwave is declared when temperature remains at 45 degrees Celsius and above for two consecutive days. It gets a “severe” tag when the temperature touches 47 degrees Celsius.
India is seeing its worst heatwave this year with four cities in north India on a record high. Delhi, Churu in Rajasthan, and Banda and Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh saw temperatures reaching a high of 50 degrees Celsius and above. At one point of time during the last 30 days, over 10 places across India witnessed the hottest temperatures.
According to IMD, by now, monsoon should have reached central India, including parts of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, but it is yet to reach Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, the IMD on Monday predicted moderate showers in Mumbai and surrounding areas over the next two days, while south Konkan will receive higher intensity rain during the same period.
“There is a respite from heatwave due to cyclonic storm ‘Vayu’ which impacted the weather pattern in northern states. Parts of Rajasthan, Punjab, Western Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana have received rain and thunderstorm since Saturday, bringing respite from the sweltering conditions,” said Dr Kuldeep Srivastava of the IMD.