In the last 24 hours, fourteen people, including 10 polling personnel, have died due to heatstroke in Bihar, officials reported on Friday afternoon. The Disaster Management Department's statement revealed that most fatalities were from Bhojpur, where five election duty officials succumbed to heatstroke. Additionally, three election officials died in Rohtas, and one each in Kaimur and Aurangabad districts. Four other individuals lost their lives in different parts of the state.
Government response and ex-gratia
The Bihar government has initiated the process of granting ex-gratia to the families of the deceased. The state is grappling with extreme heat, with temperatures surpassing 44 degrees Celsius in several areas. Buxar recorded the highest temperature on Thursday at 47.1 degrees Celsius.
School closures and opposition criticism
Due to the severe heatwave, all schools, coaching institutes, and Anganwadi centres have been closed until June 8. Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav criticised the government on social media, questioning why teachers are required to attend schools when students are not present. He emphasised that teachers should be granted leave during the extreme heat.
In a post on X, the leader of the opposition, Tejashwi Yadav, said, "When government-run schools have already been closed because of pressure from the opposition, why are teachers being asked to come to schools in this intense heat wave conditions? What will teachers do when students themselves are not in school? Teachers must be given leave in this scorching heat."
Ongoing elections amid heatwave
The elections for Bihar's 40 Lok Sabha seats are being conducted in seven phases, with polling in eight seats scheduled for Saturday. The extreme heat poses additional challenges to the electoral process.
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