Sunstroke toll climbs to 46 in Chittoor district

Chittoor: With severe heat wave conditions prevailing in the district, 46 deaths have been reported in the last 15 days, according to District Revenue Officer (DRO) L Vijay Chander. However, unofficial reports say that 57 persons have died so far due to sunstroke. The officials concerned are yet to confirm remaining 11 deaths. The DRO said that District Collector Siddharth Jain had already submitted a report to the State government over death toll due to sunstroke.
Speaking to the media in his chamber here on Monday, the DRO stated that lives of elderly persons and children were lost in the last 15 days because of sunstroke. The official said Rs 1 lakh would be paid for kin of each sunstroke victim. He pointed out a three-member committee is expected to confirm remittance of ex-gratia to kin of deceased. The Collector has instructed the DMHO to organise 930 medical camps for 10 days in the district for providing medical treatment for sunstroke patients, he added.
The DRO said that severe heat wave conditions will prevail for one more week and made an appeal to the public not to venture out of their homes from 11 am to 4 pm as precautionary measure. Vijay Chander has opined that people are facing heat wave conditions because of ecological imbalance due to felling trees, encroachment of tanks and pollution because of vehicles.
Out of 8,032 irrigation tanks registered in the district, 1,050 tanks were encroached and the government has taken steps for restoring more than 641 tanks in the district, he added. The DRO said Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has given instructions to dig 1,000 soak pits in 137 major panchayats in the district.