Sundargarh: Four people succumbed to heatstroke and died at the Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) in Sundargarh on Friday morning, said an official.
Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Rourkela, Ashutosh Kulkarni shared details about the heatwave-related deaths and said, "As many as 50 patients were brought to the RGH Hospital yesterday following extreme heatwave conditions in the district, after which all of them were admitted. Four people succumbed to the heatstroke and died here at the hospital in Rourkela."
"As of now, 25 patients are admitted at the RGH Hospital, out of which more than 10 have been referred to the high-tech hospital. 8 people were brought dead at the hospital. A post-mortem investigation is underway for those eight deceased," said the official.
Earlier in the day, 5 people died after suffering heatstrokes at a hospital in Bihar's Aurangabad district.
The death toll due to heat wave conditions in Bihar's Aurangabad, which reached 12 earlier has risen to 17 as of Friday.
Heatwave conditions continue to relentlessly grip parts of India, claiming at least 54 lives and pushing temperatures to unbearable highs.
Bihar has been the worst-hit state, with over 24 deaths attributed to the extreme heat.
Other states including Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh have also been seeing fatalities.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued warnings of severe heatwave conditions persisting for several days.
Cities like Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu have been sweltering under the relentless sun.
Amid the persistent intense heatwave situation, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued necessary guidelines for administration in the state on Friday.
Likewise, special arrangements have been implemented at RML Hospital in Delhi to treat heatstroke patients effectively.
The maximum temperatures were markedly above normal at a few places over Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi on May 28, as per the IMD data.
Amid the soaring temperatures and intense summer heat in parts of the country, several villages in the Melghat region of Maharashtra's Amravati district are experiencing a severe water crisis, forcing residents to collect water from polluted sources.
During peak summer, the situation intensifies into a distressful situation. The residents of Mariampur village allege they are forced to collect drinking water by digging pits on the bank of the polluted pond.
The locals have further raised their concerns over the government's inaction, citing the absence of water tankers and the ill-functioning governmental taps in their village.
The India Meteorological Department said on Wednesday that the heatwave to severe heatwave conditions prevailing over Northwest and Central India are likely to reduce gradually from May 30.
It further said that hot and humid weather is very likely to prevail over isolated parts of Konkan and Goa on May 30 and 31. (ANI)
