Several faint in overcrowded rally, rushed to hospitals; Vijay ends speech ahead of schedule
Karur (PTI): Stampede-like situation was witnessed and many persons, including a few children, fainted here on Saturday while they were at a rally presided by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief, actor-politician Vijay.
The crowd swelled and became uncontrollable even as Vijay was addressing the gathering and a number of persons including party workers and a few children fainted and fell down.
Several workers noticed the situation and raised an alarm and Vijay took note and halted his speech and threw water bottles from atop the custom-built campaign bus. Ambulances had a tough time negotiating the heavily crowded thoroughfare to reach the spot.
The fainted persons were rushed to nearby hospitals in ambulances and a some of them are reportedly battling for their lives. Vijay, who understood the situation ended his speech ahead of the scheduled time.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Heatwave scorches Odisha, Jharsuguda reels under 43.6 degrees C
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Heatwave conditions scorched Odisha on Tuesday, with the IMD forecasting that hot and humid conditions would continue in parts of the state.
The IMD’s Bhubaneswar centre said Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati districts were likely to experience hot and humid conditions on April 22.
It also predicted thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty surface winds in parts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada and Koraput, among others.
On Tuesday, 18 places across Odisha recorded maximum temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius or above. The industrial town of Jharsuguda was the hottest in the state at 43.6 degrees Celsius.
Sambalpur and Titlagarh recorded 42.5 degrees Celsius each, followed by Hirakud at 42.4 degrees, Bolangir at 42.2 degrees and Angul at 42.1 degrees.
The twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 37.9 degrees Celsius and 38.8 degrees Celsius, respectively, with relative humidity levels remaining above 70 per cent.
Meanwhile, the state government directed all district education officers to conduct a Summer Learning Programme for students till class 8 in government schools during the summer vacation.
Officials said students would be given practice assignments along with audio-visual learning content.
Subject-wise assignment sheets have been prepared, while related digital material will be shared through school parents' WhatsApp groups using a chatbot system, they said.
