A. India not relieved by heatwave, heat kills five elderly people in Bengal

New Delhi, Dt

With the onset of monsoon in many parts of the country, North India is likely to get no relief from the heatwave for another two days. On the other hand, due to heat and humidity in five parganas of West Bengal, five elderly people, including a couple, died at a religious fair and some others fell ill. However, the heat has decreased in Central and East India. In addition, monsoon is advancing with rains in Gujarat, Central Maharashtra and South India, the meteorological department said.

In West Bengal, overcrowding during the 'Doi-Cherry Fair' at the ISKCON temple on the banks of the Hooghly River has created an atmosphere of heat and humidity, killing five elderly people and leaving some sick. A doctor examining patients at a makeshift medical camp set up at a nearby school said the deaths were due to heat and dehydration. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed grief over the incident.

The meteorological department said that hotwave conditions prevailed in north-east and central India due to hot and dry westerly winds. North India is yet to get relief from the intense heat for two days. However, it is likely to rain in western and north-eastern India in the next two days.

According to the meteorological department, some parts of the northern Arabian Sea have favorable conditions for the onset of monsoon. Apart from this, Gujarat, Central Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and some parts of the Bay of Bengal are likely to receive rains in the next four hours. Earlier, the meteorological department had issued a red alert for Assam and Meghalaya, forecasting torrential rains for the next day. A red alert was issued for Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Jharkhand and some parts of Uttar Pradesh saw heatwave conditions with a low of 7.5 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature was above 4 degrees Celsius in about 7 cities of North India. The maximum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 7.8 degrees. The meteorological department said Delhi-NCR and other parts of northern India are likely to get some relief from the heat after June 15. However, heatwave has declined in Central and Eastern India.