IMD forecasts hot and humid days, Odisha declares morning schools from April 2
Bhubaneswar, Mar 30: With the IMD forecasting hot and humid conditions across Odisha in the coming days, the state government on Saturday announced morning classes for students in all schools.
In a letter to all district collectors, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Satyabrata Sahu asked them to take immediate measures to mitigate the hot and humid weather and ensure that no casualty takes place due to the possible heat wave condition.
The School and Mass Education department also directed primary, secondary and higher secondary schools including private institutions to hold morning classes from 7 AM to 11.30 AM from April 2.
The state government has also issued an advisory for the districts and asked different departments to look after various sectors for mitigating the hot and humid condition.
The Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department and Housing & Urban Development Department asked to identify the water scarcity pockets and ensure supply of drinking water through tankers.
The departments were also asked to open Drinking Water Kiosks at marketplaces, bus stands and other congregation points and take up preventive maintenance of tube wells and piped water supply systems.
Earlier, the India Meteorological Department (IMD), in an evening bulletin, said due to prevailing dry conditions in major parts of the state and high solar insolation, maximum temperature is likely to be between 38 to 40 degrees Celsius at many places in interior parts and between 36 to 38 degrees in the coastal districts during next 4 to 5 days.
The IMD also forecast that the minimum temperature (night temperature) is also likely to see a gradual rise by 2-3 degrees during the next 4-5 days at many places.
Most parts of coastal districts are likely to have a minimum temperature between 24 to 26 degrees C and interior districts between 22 to 24 degrees C.
The IMD said warm night conditions prevailed at isolated places in interior Odisha and the condition is likely to continue for the next 4 to 5 days.
As many as four places in the state witnessed temperature crossing 40 degrees Celsius with Malkangiri becoming the hottest place with 41 degrees C.
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Mumbai family deaths: FDA finds no watermelon vendor in area to check for affected stock
Mumbai (PTI): The Food and Drug Administration team probing the cause of death of four members of a family in south Mumbai's JJ Marg area have not been able to zero in on any watermelon vendor in the vicinity to check if the fruit had a role to play in the ill-fated incident, an official said on Thursday.
The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am, hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.
They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.
"The FDA team visited the house of Dokadia and collected samples of chicken pulao and watermelon pieces. After two days, the leftover chicken pulao had developed fungus growth. The team also tried to locate watermelon vendors to check for any affected lots," he said.
But no vendors were found in the area for the past two days, preventing the FDA team from getting samples, the official added.
The FDA has requested the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to share the report on the food samples collected by them, he added.
A senior Mumbai police official said the force is waiting for FSL reports in the case, adding that questions on presence of sedatives etc in the fruit could be answered only then.
The statements of the kin of the deceased are being recorded to ascertain if it is a case of mass suicide, and it is being checked if the Dokadia family were in debt or distressed over some issue, the police official said.
