Bihar battles heatwaves during critical election days, 19 people die

Patna (Bihar) [India], May 31 : At least 19 people have died as Bihar experiences intense heatwave conditions, with temperatures exceeding 44 degrees Celsius.
In Bihar's Aurangabad, the death toll due to heat wave conditions has reached 12, while four people died in Kaimur district, including a worker on election duty, on Thursday and three people have died in Bihar's Arrah in Bhojpur district after suffering from extreme heatwaves in the region.
Dr Sahil Raj, a doctor at Kaimur's Mohania sub-divisional hospital, said that on Thursday, a total of about 40 people had come to the hospital who had been affected by heat stroke.
"Among them, two persons, including polling personnel, had come to me who died due to heat stroke. 30 to 40 people, including police personnel, are undergoing treatment. Many have been sent home after treatment, while others are undergoing treatment," he said.
Dr Raj said that a colleague who was on duty with him said that Shahnawaz Khan, a teacher by profession, had returned home after election duty. Khan remained sleeping at home and eventually died, he shared.
Assistant sub-inspector of police Satish Kumar Ravi posted at Mohania police station said that they have sent four bodies for postmortems who had died due to heat stroke to different places.
Meanwhile, three people have died in Bihar's Arrah in Bhojpur district after suffering from an extreme heatwave in the region.
"Three people have been reported dead. One of them is a home guard who was brought to the hospital but could not be saved. In addition to this, there was a presiding officer in Jagdishpur who was on duty. He was stabilised and then referred, but he died in the hospital. Another person, Rajesh Ram, collapsed," Bhojpur District Magistrate Mahendra Kumar said.
Speaking about the precautions that have been taken in the district amid the sweltering heat, Kumar said, "The temperature is very high today, and the heat wave is a challenge for us. We have kept the medical team on alert. If any polling personnel or police personnel face any problems, they are being taken to the hospital. Some people have recovered, but these three cases were unfortunate. Police and mobile medical teams are on alert in all hospitals. They will visit police residential areas. In case of complaints, they will be brought to the dedicated heat wave ward at the municipal hospital."
On conducting elections amid the extreme heatwave conditions in the district, Kumar said, "This is a challenge, but we need to hold elections as well. The polling party that will carry the EVMs has to follow all the dos and don'ts of the heatwave and try their best not to get out in the sun and facilitate the election process."
In Bihar's Aurangabad, the death toll due to heat wave conditions has reached 12, with more than 20 patients admitted in different hospitals across the district, officials from the Aurangabad Health Department said.
Bihar is voting in all seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections, with the final phase scheduled for Saturday, June 1.