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Amid heat wave, Delhi LG directs chief secretary to ensure availability of water for poor | Top updates
Data compiled by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) shows that Uttar Pradesh is the worst-affected state in terms of heat wave related deaths.
Delhi lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Thursday directed the Union territory's chief secretary to hold a meeting with officials to ensure availability of water and other facilities to the homeless and poor, even as an intense heat wave continued to sweep various parts of the country.
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“I am writing to draw your attention to prominent news reports that there have been 20 deaths over the last two days due to the intense heat wave in the city. 52 people have been reportedly declared as dead on arrival and most of these were destitute homeless people. The actual number appear to be much higher,” Ashish Kundra, the LG's principal secretary, said in a letter to chief secretary Naresh Kumar, writing on the lieutenant governor's behalf.
Here are the top updates on heat wave:
(1.) “He (the LG) has directed that a meeting be convened at your (chief secretary) level with concerned officers to ensure that adequate measures are in place for providing water and other facilities to destitute, homeless, and the poor,” the letter stated.
Also Read | Heatwave killed over 190 homeless people in Delhi in 9 days: NGO report
(2.) “District Magistrates may also be advised to visit the shelter homes and hospitals in their jurisdiction to ensure adequate arrangements are in place for relief and emergency response wherever warranted,” it added.
Also Read | Delhi heatwave: 380 hospitalised, 14 died in 48 hours, says health minister
(3.) Meanwhile, according to sources in the Union health ministry, the heat wave has claimed at least 114 lives across the country and left nearly 41,000 (40,984) people between March 1 and June 18.
(4.) Data compiled by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) shows that Uttar Pradesh, with 37 deaths, is the worst-hit state, followed by Bihar, Rajasthan, and Odisha.
(5.) However, the data, which shows that there were four deaths on June 19, may not be the final submission from states, as per an official. “ So the numbers are expected to be higher than this,” as per the official.
(6.) On Wednesday, under the directions of health minister JP Nadda, issued an advisory ('Heat Wave Season 2024') to the health departments of states and Union territories.
(7.) "The country may observe above normal seasonal maximum temperatures in line with the observed trend of summertime temperatures. To reduce health impacts of extreme heat, health departments must ensure preparedness and timely response," the advisory noted.
(8.) Additionally, the advisory directed state nodal officers under the National Programme for Climate Change and Human Health (NPCCHH) to start submitting the daily data on heatstroke cases and deaths and total deaths with effect from March 1.
(With agency inputs)
https://blankpaper.htdigital.in/dash/story/101718892171016
Amid heat wave, Delhi LG directs chief secretary to ensure availability of water for poor | Top updates
