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Heatwave: State finalises action plan

Special Correspondent

Stick to timings or face action, schools and colleges told

MOMENT OF GLORY: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik felicitating singer Jitendra Haripal in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. — Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty

BHUBANESWAR: Apprehending harsh heatwave conditions in the coming weeks, the government on Tuesday finalised a formal action plan to help people cope with the heat.

A detail of the plan was discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here.

Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Manmohan Samal and top officials of different departments attended the meeting.

Schedule

Talking to presspersons after the meeting, Mr. Samal said that strong action would be taken against principals and headmasters of schools if they conduct classes after 10.30 a.m.

All schools would remain open from 6 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. Schools and colleges would be closed for summer vacation from May 1 to June 20, the meeting decided.

District Collectors would be instructed accordingly and they could even order the arrest of principals and headmasters who violated the time schedule decided by the government to help children escape the scorching sun.

The Minister said that the Indian Meteorological Department apprehended severe heatwave conditions in the State during the coming days.

ORS packets

Mr. Samal said that necessary steps were being taken to ensure that oral re-hydration sachet (ORS) packets were available in all government hospitals and health centres across the State.

He further said that steps were being taken to repair all defunct tubewells across the State to ensure availability of drinking water. Water tankers would also be requisitioned by different district administrations to supply drinking water to areas having acute shortage.

Green cover

In order to make people aware of the dangers of the heatwave, the authorities had already started publishing advertisements in local dailies.

The government would also plant 25-lakh saplings with a view to adding green cover in the coming years, Mr. Samal said.

The State had experienced severe heatwave in 1998 when over 2,000 people died. The rate of such deaths, however, decreased in the following years with awareness growing about measures one should take to cope up with the conditions.

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