Mercury down in many parts of Odisha

Bhubaneswar, May 6 (PTI) The mercury came down today in many parts of Odisha, where Talcher was the hottest recording the highest temperature of 42 degrees C.

Though the sunstroke deaths confirmed by the state government stood at 16, the number of alleged heat-related deaths increased by 10 to 166 during the day, the special relief commission's (SRC) office said, adding the district collectors were still probing into 76 other cases.

P K Mohapatra, SRC, said the district collector's report is essential before declaring the reason of death of any person as per the relief code.

The family of each person who died in sunstroke would be given Rs 50,000 as ex-gratia, he said.

After Talcher which recorded the highest of 42 degrees C, Bhubaneswar and Angul were at 41.7 degrees C, the MeT office said.

The other places which recorded temperature at or above 40 degrees C were Sundergarh (41), Chandbali (40.8), Sambalpur (40.3) and Sonepur (40).

The Doppler weather radar and satellite imageries indicated occurrence of thundersquall accompanied by hail and gusty surface wind at some places, the MeT office said. PTI AAM KK PVI