26 Perish In 9 Days As Nagpur Boils At 46°C

Nagpur: Nagpur again recorded a blistering 46°C on Thursday as heatwave conditions continued to prevail for the third consecutive day. This was the hottest day of Brahmapuri in the last 11 years as it recorded a blistering 47.1°C to emerge as the second hottest place in India. Five districts, including Chandrapur (46.8°C), Gadchiroli (46.4°C), Wardha (46.4°C), Nagpur (46°C) and Amravati (45.8°C), were among the top 10 hottest places in India. A red alert has been sounded for Wardha, Akola and Amravati, while Nagpur, Chandrapur and Yavatmal are placed in orange alert for the next two days.With temperature consistently remaining high since May 13, a total of 26 unknown bodies have been received at mortuaries. GMCH has received 11 while IGGMCH has received 15 in this period. These persons were found lying near roadside under mysterious circumstances, officials said. They added that a thorough pathological analysis of the viscera will ascertain the actual cause of death. These deaths are treated as suspected heatstroke cases and referred to the district death audit committee for confirmation. However, the surge in such deaths coincides with the rise in temperature. Hence, it is suspected that they could be victims of heatstroke.NMC is expected to activate its heat action plan to prevent citizens from exposure to heatwave.Despite approval from top civic officials, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's proposal to cool overheated cement concrete roads by spraying treated water remains confined to paper over a month after it was cleared during the heat action plan meeting. The NMC health (medical) department had recommended that the public health engineering department deploy tankers to spray treated water on major roads to reduce rising surface temperatures during the ongoing heatwave. The proposal was approved by mayor Neeta Thakre and municipal commissioner Vipin Itankar during two separate review meetings. However, no visible implementation has begun so far, even as residents continue to face intense heat radiating from the city's nearly 2,000-km-long network of cement concrete roads. Civic officials planned targeted spraying in high-traffic stretches to curb heat retention and improve commuter comfort during peak afternoon hours. Another major lapse during the ongoing heatwave is the functioning of traffic signals during peak afternoon hours between 1 pm and 4 pm as a decision has been made to keep signals at several intersections on blinking mode. Signals at several busy intersections, including Awasthi Nagar Square, Police Talao T-Point, Japanese Garden Square and PKV Salve Square, reportedly remained functional, forcing motorists and commuters to wait under the scorching sun amid soaring temperatures. Adding to the concern, no green shade nets have been installed by the NMC at these key junctions, despite repeated claims of heat mitigation measures under the city's heat action plan.