Heatwave: Odisha govt orders closure of all schools for 3 days
Intense heatwave continued to singe the state of Odisha with at least 30 places recording a temperature of 40 degree Celsius or more
The Odisha government on Wednesday ordered closure of all schools from Thursday for next three days as intense heatwave continued to singe the state with at least 30 places recording a temperature of 40 degree Celsius or more.
According to the government order, all the schools, including government and private schools, will remain closed till April 20.
Even though morning classes were being conducted till 10.30am, parents of many students complained that the heatwave was affecting their children while they returning home in scorching heat after the school hours.
On Wednesday, the coal town of Talcher in Odisha was the hottest place with mercury shooting up to 43.2 degree Celsius. It was closely followed by Nuapada, which recorded a maximum temperature of 43 degree Celsius. Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded temperatures of 41.7 degree Celsius and 41.5 degree Celsius respectively.
The Special Relief Commissioner has already asked the district collectors to not allow labourers to work between 11am and 3pm warning of punitive action against people who violate the order.
As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the day temperature is likely to rise by 2 to 3 degree Celsius in many places during the next two days. It has also issued orange warnings for several areas for two days from Thursday and yellow warning for two more days thereafter. IMD officials said heat wave conditions are likely in some pockets of Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal and Jharkhand between April 17 and April 21.
The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha, Nikunja Dhal, said that the mission of the Election Commission of India (ECI) is to have zero casualties in heat waves during the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state.
“We are preparing ourselves to face minimum voter inconvenience. Our mission is zero casualty in heat waves. We will create awareness among the voters and precautions to take while they are coming to vote. We will have ambulances available to take care of any emergency case. We will have a mobile health unit. We will have para-medical staff travelling with all the sectors. We will have ORS packets with the mobile parties,” he said.
In Kalahandi, Bolangir, Nabarangpur and Berhampur Lok Sabha constituencies going to polls on May 13, the candidates have been forced to campaign only after 5pm due to heatwave.