16 die due to heatwave in seven districts of Telangana; govt to provide Rs 4 lakh ex gratia

Hyderabad: Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy on Saturday said that 16 people have died due to heatstroke across seven districts of Telangana. Srinivas Reddy on Saturday held an emergency review meeting at the Secretariat in the wake of heat wave conditions prevailing in the state since the last few days.

According to reports from district collectors, four deaths were recorded in Jayashankar Bhupalpally, three each in Warangal Urban, Karimnagar, and Nizamabad, and one each in Jogulamba Gadwal, Rangareddy, and Suryapet districts. Acting on the directions of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, the minister ordered that compensation of Rs 4 lakh each be paid to the families of the deceased and that the process be completed without delay.

The meeting was convened against the backdrop of rapidly rising temperatures and an intensifying heatwave across the state, further aggravated by a severe El Niño effect. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that heat conditions are likely to worsen over the next three days.

Directing officials to treat the protection of human life as the highest priority, Srinivas Reddy ordered that villages and mandals recording extreme temperatures be specifically identified and residents issued advance warnings every hour through media, social media, and local public announcements. He stressed that not a single life should be lost to the heat due to administrative negligence.

The minister directed that cold drinking water, buttermilk, and ORS packets be made available at bus stands, markets, major roads, and workplaces frequented by labourers and the general public. He urged the elderly, pregnant women, children, and the ailing to avoid venturing outdoors between 11 am and 4 pm except in emergencies, and called for special precautions for agricultural labourers, construction workers, and road workers.

Every district collector has been instructed to personally monitor heatwave conditions, with officials from the mandal level to village-level staff required to remain deployed in the field. Emergency medical services are to be kept on standby to treat heat stroke symptoms immediately. The minister also called for water troughs and earthen pots to be placed in villages and towns to provide drinking water for birds and animals.

Officials during the meeting told the minister that IMD has warned that intense heat and heatwave conditions will continue until May 26 in Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Mulugu, Khammam, Nalgonda, Suryapet, Mahbubnagar, Hyderabad, and Rangareddy districts. Collectors of these districts have been put on high alert and asked to take special precautionary measures.

The state government, the minister said, is coordinating across all departments on a war footing to ensure public safety, and urged citizens to remain vigilant and strictly follow government advisories.