Soumitra Nandi
Kolkata: Terrible heat wreaked havoc in West Bengal with the state registering eight deaths including two in Kolkata on Friday. Situations may get worse with the Alipore Metrological office in the city predicting rise in temperature in the days to come.
West Bengal has been gripped by heat wave. The temperature in Birbhum rose to 44.2 degree Celsius, seven degree above the normal. Temperature in Kolkata was 37.7 but the humidity in the air resulted in profuse perspiration for the city dwellers. The weather experts did not rule out the possibility of a heat wave gripping the city soon.
An employee of the health department of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Moinuddin Ali died inside his office being unable to bear the terrible heat. A taxi driver Surinder Paswan died at Ritchie Road in the Ballygunge police station area in South Kolkata due to a sunstroke.
One Jitendra Tanti 35, died inside the lock up of Barrackpore Court. He was an under trial prisoner. Ramkumar Yadav 45 who had entrained on the Mithila Express on wau to Bihar on Friday afternoon fell sick immediately after the train left Howrah. He was pronounced dead by doctors at the Burdwan station. A vagabond suffered the same fate in a train compartment at the Howrah Burdwan cordline on Friday night.
A resident of Guskara in Burdwan Niharanjan Patra 73 also died of sunstroke. Daily labourer at Mejia in Bankura district Ganesh Bauri 37 also died of sunstroke. Silghasta Rai, a warder of Midnapore Central jail also became a victim of heat. A resident of Kalimpong, Rai had come to the jail to impart training.
The state health department cancelled leave of doctors at some specific departments in government hospitals in the state.
Temperature at the neighbouring states of West Bengal also soared high. Temperature at Gaya in Bihar rose to 44.7, Daltongunj in Jharkhand registered 46 while Jharsugda in Orissa had temperature soaring to 45.8. “Hot air from these neighbouring areas is making its way into Bengal. There is little possibility of any change in the situation in the next few days,” said a senior weather department official in Kolkata.