There is strange lack of commitment on the part of Government agencies this year as far as responding to the heat stroke is concerned. At least 20 persons have been stated to have been killed due to extreme heat since the onset of summer this year, though officially it is pegged at five.
Many say this is a deliberate attempt by the Government to hide the actual number of casualties to cover up its failure in tackling the natural calamity.While 78 people, on an average, die of heat stroke in Odisha every year as per official records, the fact remains that it is not considered a natural calamity and the compensation paid to the families of the victim is fifteen times less than the compensation paid to victims of calamities and disasters listed by the Central Government.
It is worthwhile here to mention that the Centre has accorded natural calamity status to flood, cyclone, tsunami, earthquake, fire mishap, cloudburst, cold wave, hail storm, avalanche and pest attack and set up the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to provide compensation or financial assistance to the affected families.
Besides, for tackling these calamities and raising awareness among the people, the Centre has also made provision for setting up of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to provide financial assistance and compensation to the victims’ kin.
However, lightning or sunstroke does not figure in this category and there is no provision for any compensation from either the NDRF or the SDRF to the victims of these natural phenomena.
The State Government has written letters to the Union Home Ministry at least thrice demanding inclusion of heat stroke and lightning strikes in the official list of natural calamities, but unfortunately, not followed it up with any degree of sincerity.As a result, while the affected families in the 12 enlisted categories are receiving compensation of Rs1.5 lakh, the State Government is presently providing compensation of only Rs10,000 from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) to the kin of the victims of heat stroke and lightning.
Secondly, the meagre compensation is paid after going through a whole lot of cumbersome procedures that result in undue delay in the final payment.The sunstroke deaths reached an all time high in 1998 with the death of 2,042 people as per official records in Odisha. While many say it was an exaggerated figure, there are claims that it was much higher.
Though the rate of heat stroke casualties came down appreciably in the subsequent years due to statewide awareness campaigns, the State Government has failed to achieve zero-casualty till date.
As per the records available from the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), while 99 people had died in 1991, 29 died in 2000, 25 in 2001, 41 in 2002, 68 in 2003, 45 in 2004, 236 in 2005, 22 in 2006, 47 in 2007, 68 in 2008, 87 in 2009, 100 in 2010, 22 in 2011 and 86 in 2012. Though over 100 sunstroke deaths have been reported in 2013, there is no specific record on the exact number of deaths.