Daily-Wage Earners, Farmers at Procurement Centres: The Lives Lost to Heat in Telangana |
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Hyderabad: Before the sudden rains on Tuesday (May 26) night, Telangana had been reeling under severe heat conditions over the last several weeks. The state government has said that 19 people were killed during the heat wave, but news reports suggest that number is likely to be higher. Over the last week, 16 districts have recorded temperatures above 46 degrees Celsius.
The Telangana State Development Planning Society (TSDPS), which monitors the state’s weather stations, and the Indian Meteorological Department’s reports have noted the extreme heat the state has witnessed. The IMD issued a heatwave warning in 16 districts on Tuesday, but the TSDPS did not release its bulletin citing technical issues.
Telangana government document on heatwave deaths until May 25.
Daily-wage earners, farmers lost their lives
Ahmed Arif, a 50-year-old autorickshaw driver, was found dead in the driving seat of his vehicle in Hyderabad’s Medchal on Monday (May 25). Arif had stopped to sleep in his auto around noon, unable to take the heat, Eenadu has reported. When he did not wake up even in the evening, people nearby tried to wake him, but he had passed away.
Ankati Mallavva, a 63-year-old national rural employment guarantee (now Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission) programme worker, collapsed at a worksite and was declared dead on being taken to a nearby government hospital last week. She was among a group of workers who had digitally marked their attendance and begun their assigned task of digging trenches in a reserve forest near Vemulakurthi........