Deal with the heat

Hyderabad: Unprecedented deaths due to prevailing heat wave conditions in Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh, which formed over one third of the total fatalities in the country in 2015, calls for certain measures to prevent this in 2016 and then on.

This public health approach was warranted ever since 1,677  people died of heat in 1995. According to the National Crimes Records Bureau the numbers as: 393 in 1997 to 1274 in 2010, excluding the 1995 peak. But even after two decades, we are still lethargic and comatose like a heat stroke victim in taking any concrete action.

Why is it still not a national calamity? When deaths due to cold waves are a national emergency, but the deaths due to heat waves aren’t, it starts to seem irrational. There is a policy gap to be addressed here first, so that the government educates people on prevention, preparedness to manage cases, reduce mortality and in streamlining compensation packages.

Meteorological data from 1951 to 2010 reveals that the mean maximum temperature showed an increasing trend, at 95 per cent uniformly across all southern states in addition to Maharashtra and Rajasthan. But Haryana, UP, Bihar and Bengal showed a decreasing trend. Thus there is shifting heat wave belt to southern states.

Besides the climatic factors, traditionally, communities in the southern states are less prepared to face heat waves when compared to their northern counterparts. This adds to the high mortality. The states of Odisha and Gujarat have set some good examples of preventive steps and crisis management – which can be emulated on the national level.

The writer is former director, State Health Resource Centre, Chhattisgarh, and Former health & nutrition specialist,UNICEF India

Board to pump Sagar water:

For the first time ever, the water Board may have to press the emergency button to provide drinking water to Hyderabad. Giving details, water board managing director Dana Kishore told DC on Monday, “In normal conditions we can pump Nagarjunasagar waters to Puttamgandi (from where the three-phase Krishna Water Piped Lift Scheme operates) up to 505 ft MSL. The emergency pumps we are now installing will be able to pump waters even below this level and if needed we will also put additional pumps and tap water for the city. This is the first time that the Board is faced with an emergency-like situation.”

The failure of the monsoon in the last two years has resulted in drying up of Osmansagar, Himayatsagar, Manjeera and Singur which would supply 160 MGD, The three-phase pipeline from Nagarjunasagar that supplies upto 278 MGD, and 85 MGD from Yellampally (on the Godavari) are the only two sources left to supply 365 MGD for Hyderabad. “We have never operated the emergency pumps in the board’s history, but this time we may have to, the works will be completed by May 15,” Mr Kishore said.

Presently the water level at Nagarjunasagar is 507 ft, which is 3 ft below the maximum fraw down level). The dead storage is 127 tmc ft. The 4 tmc ft water left at Yellampally has been earmarked for the city’s needs. Though the pumping scheme from Yellampally can supply 172 MGD, officials, as a precautionary measure, have reduced it to half. “Even with emergency pumps we can get 278 MGD from Nagarjunasagar, then there will be a short fall of about 85 MGD; we may have to operate emergency pumps at Yellampally too to tap at least 30 MGD. In case of a shortfall even then, we will have to take some water conservation measures,” Mr Kishore said.

City gets to have fun on hot days:

Last week’s heat wave – when the maximum temperature in Hyderabad was recorded at 41.5ºC – led to some innovations. On April 14, a man in Charminar was seen frying eggs without any fire. He simply placed a frying pan with oil on a plastic stool on the road and fried eggs. A day before that, when Karimnagar recorded 44ºC, a woman from the district was seen frying an omelette. She spread the egg on the ground and it literally cooked by itself.

In both cases, the eggs were perfectly cooked by the heat and to prove this, the duo flipped the eggs over to reveal how nicely they has cooked through. Ms Daman Sujitha, a resident of Bansilalpet, told this newspaper, “Washed clothes dried within minutes, I didn’t have to squeeze much. On hot days we also places buckets of water in the sun and the same hot water is used for bathing and washing too.”

Meanwhile temperatures in the city dipped after the sudden rain and thunderstorm on Sunday. The maximum temperature on Monday was 39. 2ºC, a relief, though slight, as the maximum temperature hadn’t dropped below 40ºC in the last 10 days. The minimum reported was 26ºC. The forecast for Hyderabad for Tuesday is cloudy skies with high chances of rain or thundershower in parts of the city. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 40ºC and 26ºC.