UP: PPE-wearing cop screening devotees at Mathura temple faints, 5 others on duty remove safety kit due to heat

AGRA: A policeman screening devotees at the Sri Krishna Janamsthan in Mathura collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital on Monday after two hours of wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) in searing heat. Soon after, five more cops on duty also took off their PPE kits as they claimed discomfort.
The temple, which opened its doors on Monday for the first time after the lockdown, recorded a footfall of 500 as opposed to up to 30,000 devotees it used to witness before March. On day one, half a dozen policemen deployed there to check temperatures of passengers were in PPE kits. But as the day’s maximum temperature touched 41 degrees Celsius, the cops started complaining of discomfort and sweating.
Sushil Kumar, 24, who was taking temperature of devotees at the temple gate collapsed and was taken to a nearby hospital. “I remember feeling uncomfortable and out of breath. When I gained consciousness, I was at the hospital. The doctors told me that I had fallen unconscious due to the heat and I was administered glucose,” Kumar told TOI.
Other cops on duty told TOI that the heat made it unbearable to wear PPE over their uniform. “PPEs may be suitable for those working in an air-conditioned environment, but not for us. We took them off after our colleague collapsed,” said one of the policemen.
SP(city) AK Meena said that the PPE kits were meant for safety of policemen but added that alternatives would be looked into after this incident. “We will provide them with masks, gloves and face shields,” he said.
Meanwhile, the temple's secretary, Kapil Sharma, said all arrangements for ‘darshan’ have been made according to state government guidelines. “Prasad distribution and bhandara (feast) have been postponed till further orders,” he said.