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Bhubaneswar: Amidst an unwavering heat wave sweeping Odisha; the State government today announced ex-gratia compensation of Rs 50, 000 for each death caused by sun stroke.
Making the announcement, Special Relief Commissioner Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra, said that the compensation will be paid out of the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF).
“We have written to the Central government to consider heat stroke deaths as a disaster. However, it has been classified as a state specific disaster. Hence the Rs 50,000 compensation is being provided out of the SDRF,” said Mohapatra.
“We are documenting all reports of deaths as published by the media in order to investigate whether the deaths are due to heat stroke or not. Till yesterday, we have received 73 cases of suspected sun stroke deaths out of which we have investigated around 24. Two of these deaths have been confirmed as heat stroke deaths. One death has been confirmed in Angul and another from Bolangir and we are uploading the information on our website,” he added
Speaking on the drinking water challenges, he said “We are tackling the situation on a war footing. After the CM’s meeting, Panchayatiraj department has taken a strong stance on the matter and strict action will be initiated against the Sarpanches if guidelines are not followed. We are also tracking the complaints we are receiving and checking how many such complaints are being attended to. Leaves of all the concerned officials of the water supply department have been cancelled all of them will be on duty round the clock till the time temperatures return to normal.”
Commenting on the weather outlook, Mohapatra said, “The temperatures are likely to remain high. As per the met department, there are no signs of any improvement in the coming days. Given such predictions, we have to stay completely prepared. In line with the advisory issued by the Met department, we also recommend people should not show adventurism and should stay indoors, especially between 11 AM and 3 PM. If there is any urgent requirement, they should take all precautionary measures.”
