While the heat wave was expected to continue in some regions on Monday, parts of India’s northeastern Assam state reeled under floods triggered by heavy rains
New Delhi:
The government said it was investigating the cause of the deaths that occurred over three days last week in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district, about 970 km (600 miles) southeast of New Delhi.
Amid the increasing death figures of patients due to rising heat in Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, Health Director Dr AK Singh said that most of the patients complain of chest pain, difficulty in breathing, and then fever.
“Most of the patients who are coming for treatment complain that they first had chest pain, difficulty in breathing, and then fever. We are getting urine tests, blood tests, and other tests done. The rest of the patients came to the hospital out of fear and panic,” said Dr AK Singh.
He said that the other patients admitted included those who already had some prior illness. “We are taking samples, and then only we can confirm the cause of death,” said Dr AK Singh.
“Deaths have occurred in the district but it is very difficult to say if that happened due to the heat wave,” said Ravindra Kumar, the top administrative official of the district, told Reuters, without confirming the number of deaths.
“A few of the deaths are related to old age, while some have different reasons. There is no concrete evidence of heat wave behind these deaths.”
The government fired Diwakar Singh, the chief medical official at the main state hospital in Ballia, for saying that the deaths were due to heat.
The state’s deputy chief minister, Brajesh Pathak, said on social media that Singh had been removed from his position for making an “irresponsible statement”.
Temperatures have soared close to 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) in recent days in Ballia with a severe power crisis compounding the situation.
In Bihar, 45 people lost their lives due to heat-related illnesses, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported. Officials in Patna, the capital of Bihar, did not answer phone calls.
While the heat wave was expected to continue in some regions on Monday, parts of India’s northeastern Assam state reeled under floods triggered by heavy rains.
“Rainfall intensity in Assam and other northeastern states is likely to rise this week. Many pockets are expected to receive heavy to extremely heavy rainfall this week, which could lead to flooding,” said a senior official with the IMD.
Reuters