Heatstroke deaths: Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya conducts meeting to tackle heatwave issue

With heatwaves rampaging across the country and heatwave-related medical incidents on the rise, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a meeting on Tuesday to review the public health preparedness to deal with the issue.

In the high-level meeting, Mandaviya instructed officials from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to prevent heatstroke deaths, India Today reported. 

He also revealed that to help solve the situation, he will hold another meeting on Wednesday with ministers of the states that are predicted to deal with heatwaves.

"In states where a heatwave is prevailing and heatwave incidents have occurred, a team consisting of officials from Disaster Management, IMD and Union Health Ministry will be sent to assist the state government,” Mandaviya said. 

Tomorrow I will hold a meeting via video conferencing with disaster management officials and ministers of eastern states like Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Telangana, Jharkhand and Bihar where heat wave conditions are prevailing. I have also instructed ICMR to prepare well in advance to prevent heatstroke deaths," the Health Minister added.

In addition to the ICMR officials, the meeting was also presided by its Director General Dr Rajiv Bahl, Niti Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul and experts from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The last few days have seen morbid heatwaves run rampant over the country, claiming multiple lives. In Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district alone, 68 people are suspected to have succumbed to heatstrokes. Bihar and Odisha have also been fending off the heat. 

Areas in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Odisha, coastal Andhra Pradesh, and some places in east Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal also experienced a rise in temperature on Sunday, 5 degrees Celsius above the normal. East Uttar Pradesh has also seen a rise of 3-5 degrees Celsius.