Balia: At least 14 new deaths and 178 admissions were reported from the Ballia district hospital within 24 hours on Sunday because of the heatwave. The toll climbed to 68 over four days, between June 15 and June 18.
District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar said that the authorities had not yet got “solid evidence” linking the deaths to the high temperatures. Dr Diwakar Singh was Saturday removed as chief medical superintendent of the district hospital by the state government for “giving a careless statement on deaths caused by heatwave without having proper information”.
In the past three days, a total of 54 people who were admitted to the district hospital in Ballia, have lost their lives.
Consequently, a team from the health department in Lucknow has arrived at the hospital to investigate the cause of these deaths, officials said on Sunday.
These fatalities have occurred during a period of intense heatwave conditions prevailing in the region.
However, Dr Jayant Kumar, the chief medical Officer (CMO) of Ballia, stated that only two deaths in the district were directly attributed to heat stroke up until Sunday. (with Agency inputs)
