Heat wave, high humidity continues in Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow, June 25 : Heat wave conditions and high humidity continued across Uttar Pradesh on Monday, according to the weather office.
The mercury in many parts of Bundelkhand touched up to 46 degrees Celsius in the past 48-hours and the humidity levels very high in many regions, including central Uttar Pradesh or the Avadh region.
In the last 24-hours, Allahabad was the hottest in the state recording a maximum of 44.7 degrees Celsius followed by Sultanpur with 42.6 degrees and Lucknow 42.3 degrees.
The minimum temperature in the state capital was 29.8 degrees celsius, which was three degrees above the normal temperature recorded in this season.
Owing to the extreme heat wave conditions and delayed monsoons, the district administration in Lucknow has already extended the summer vacations by two days.
According to Lucknow District Magistrate (DM) Kaushal Raj Sharma, the decision was taken in the interest of the school children.
The schools will open on July 2 for classes two to nine. But vacations will be extended if the mercury does not come down and rains do not take place.
Adding to the woes are the incessant power cuts in many places in the state. In the state capital, power outages peaked in the past 10 days.
Power minister Shrikant Sharma, despite assurances that power scenario will improve considerably, has failed miserably to do anything concrete, the opposition has said.
Subhash Kahsyap, a retired Army officer residing in Indiranagar, Lucknow, says he has not seen such a "poor power scenario" in the past 10 years.
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Odisha govt halts salaries of 5 teachers after school fire injures 4 students
Bhubaneswar (PTI): The Odisha government on Tuesday halted the salaries of five teachers and issued show-cause notices to other staff of a state-run high school in Rayagada district, a day after four students sustained severe burn injuries in a fire incident on the premises of the institute.
School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond told PTI that he has directed the department secretary to submit a detailed report on the incident and ordered a departmental inquiry to ascertain negligence, if any.
The students suffered burn injuries while playing around a fire during school hours.
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“The department has stopped the salaries of five teachers and issued show-cause notices to other staff members in connection with the incident,” he said.
The minister said that further action would be taken against teachers or staff if negligence in duty was established.
School and Mass Education Secretary N Thirumala Naik said three of the injured students were undergoing treatment at a hospital in Rayagada, while one critically injured student has been shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.
The school headmaster had lodged a complaint at Muniguda police station on Monday. Police have recorded statements of the injured students, officials said.
According to preliminary findings, the incident occurred when a classmate of the injured students allegedly threw colour thinner, an inflammable substance, onto a fire that had been lit by the students on the school building’s balcony.
Muniguda police station in-charge inspector Saudamini Behera said the students were playing on the school roof around 2 pm on Monday when they found a bottle of thinner stored there.
They allegedly poured it on the floor and set it on fire using a matchstick. One of the boys later added more thinner, causing the flames to flare up and injure four students, she said.
