Bhubaneshwar:
The Rising summer heat has already claimed at least 17 lives across Orissa in the past three weeks.
Mercury has touched 45 degrees already in the Talcher and Angul coal belt, which is seven to eight degrees above normal. In Titlagarh, the hottest place in western Orissa, it is nearly 44 degrees.
The heat wave has also affected large parts of interior and coastal Orissa including Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack where temperature has crossed the 40-degree mark.
The rising heat has caused panic among people because in 1998 there were over 2000 heat stroke related deaths.