Heatwave Alert: Mansukh Mandaviya calls for robust action plan
2 min read 22 Jun 2023, 09:16 AM ISTUnion Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a meeting with health and disaster response ministers from seven states to develop action plans for mitigating the impact of heatwaves.
PremiumFollowing the alarming report of 76 suspected heatwave deaths in Ballia district, Uttar Pradesh, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a crucial meeting on Wednesday with health and disaster response ministers from seven states.
Mandaviya stressed the urgent need for these states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana, to develop comprehensive action plans aimed at mitigating the impact of heatwaves.
This meeting came shortly after Mandaviya presided over a high-level meeting of officials at the central level and dispatched teams to the affected states.
Meanwhile, India Meteorological Department (IMD) noted that heat wave conditions are very likely to continue in isolated pockets over Vidarbha, Chattisgarh, and interior Odisha on June 22.
During the meeting, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai expressed concerns over the absence of accurate on-ground data regarding heatwave incidents, including the number of cases and fatalities.
Earlier, a state government official has highlighted power outages as one of the factors contributing to the deterioration of patients' conditions before they were admitted to the district hospital, PTI reported.
A survey by LocalCircles showed that 94 per cent residents of the state have experienced power outages in the ongoing month of June. Also, 65 per cent of those surveyed in UP are facing outages three or more times on an average each day, the survey claimed.
During the meeting, the states were also urged to enhance the heat resilience of health facilities by implementing various measures. These included ensuring an uninterrupted power supply, installing solar panels to mitigate the impact of power cuts, and adopting strategies such as cool or green roofs and window shades to lower indoor temperatures.
The States were also reminded of two advisories issued by the Union Health Ministry.
As per the official release, the first was issued on February 28, 2023, by the Union Health Secretary to all the Chief Secretaries requesting compliance of states of National Action Plan on heat-related illnesses for effective preparedness of health facilities to address heat impact and management of cases. States were also advised to review health facility preparedness in terms of essential medicines, intravenous fluids, Ice-packs, ORS, drinking water as well as IEC activity for the public.
The second advisory was issued by the Union Health Ministry in the form of a wider awareness of do's and don'ts to be followed by the general population as well as vulnerable people. It advised states to use this as a template and translate to regional languages and follow the NPCCHH advisory for employers for workplace preparedness guidance, the statement added.
(With inputs from PTI)