The Kerala government on Thursday ordered the closure of all educational institutions including professional colleges till May 6 and instructed the police, the fire force and the military units to avoid drills and parades during day time as part of the measures to tackle the extreme heat conditions in the state, people familiar with the matter said.
A meeting of the state disaster management authority under the leadership of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan was held on Thursday in Thiruvananthapuram to evaluate the situation in the state in the backdrop of declaration of ‘heat wave’ in several districts by the India Meteorological Department and reporting of illnesses and deaths connected to rising temperatures.
The district collectors briefed the chief minister about the situation in their respective jurisdictions and the measures they are implementing to tackle the heat conditions.
The chief minister asked the public to avoid direct exposure to sunlight between 11 am and 3 pm. Workers in construction, agriculture, roadside shops, fishing and related sectors must organise their work hours as per the earlier direction.
For school students, vacation classes should be avoided between 11 am and 3 pm.
Shops and establishments with tin and asbestos roofs should be shut during these hours. Fire audits should be conducted in shops, market establishments and waste treatment centres where possibility of fire due to heat is high.
{{/usCountry}}Shops and establishments with tin and asbestos roofs should be shut during these hours. Fire audits should be conducted in shops, market establishments and waste treatment centres where possibility of fire due to heat is high.
{{/usCountry}}At the meeting, the CM asked all the local bodies to gear up for pre-monsoon cleanliness drives and checking of drainage systems to ensure flow of water. Spillways and sluice gates of dams and reservoirs should be checked and all obstructions removed.