Twenty people died due to heatstroke in Odisha over the last three days as the state was reeling under intense heatwave conditions, an official statement said.
Since Friday, a total of 99 suspected sunstroke deaths were reported by different districts. After post-mortem and inquiry, 20 were confirmed as sunstroke deaths, while two deaths happened due to other causes, it said.
An investigation is underway in the rest of the cases, it added.
Prior to this, 42 suspected sunstroke deaths were reported, and of them, six cases were confirmed, and it was found that another six deaths happened due to other causes, the statement said.
The deaths were mostly reported from Bolangir, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Sonepur, Sundergarh, and Balasore districts, officials said.
Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena and Special Relief Commissioner Satyabrata Sahu reviewed the situation with the district collectors on Sunday.
They instructed the district administrations to implement the advisory on heatwaves and take precautionary measures.
The districts were also asked to ensure post-mortem examination of every suspected sunstroke death for sanction of compensation.
Also, a joint inquiry by the local revenue officer and the local medical officer needs to be conducted to ascertain the exact cause of each death, officials said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Follow These Tips To Manage Asthma During Heatwave During Heatwave, Temperatures Not The Only Threat: Expert Over 47,000 People Died In Europe Last Year Due To Heat: Report Live: Congress Ahead In Haryana, Hung Verdict In J&K, Show Exit Polls Congress To Win Haryana, May Miss Majority In J&K: Poll Of Exit Polls "Went Out To Deliver...": Zomato CEO, Wife Turn Delivery Agents For A Day Shimla Court Orders Demolition Of 3 Floors Of Disputed Mosque Big Win For Congress In Haryana, Show Early Exit Polls Congress-National Conference Get Most J&K Seats, But Short Of Majority: Exit Polls Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.