At the ceremony, which also featured Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, heatstroke claimed 13 lives.
The state’s government must respond to the following questions: Why was the event moved up by almost six hours from its initial start time of 5 pm? Why, when thousands of people were anticipated to attend in the hot weather, were sufficient preparations for drinking water and marquees/tents not made?
Source: The Economist
The reality that the tragedy was brought on by negligence cannot be hidden despite the CM’s announcements of Rs. 5 lakh in compensation for the kin of the deceased and free medical care for the living victims. To identify the politicians and government employees in charge of the serious errors, a thorough investigation should be carried out.
The Centre should take the initiative to prevent states and union territories from hosting massive gatherings where dehydration and heatstroke/sunstroke can cause havoc while the country experiences a heatwave. All parties involved should take the Meteorological Department’s warnings seriously.
Source: NDTV
It’s commendable that Odisha has started a number of initiatives to combat the oppressive heat: the transport department has been ordered to reschedule timings so that buses don’t run during the peak hours of the heatwave; orders have been issued to designate separate wards/beds for patients suffering from heatstroke; employers have been instructed to make arrangements for drinking water, ORS packets, and a rest shed for workers.
Such considerate actions are admirable, as is an evaluation of the power status in advance of a spike in demand. However, there is also a pressing need to draw conclusions from the Maharashtra tragedy. The most crucial one is to cancel outside events if bad weather is predicted.
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