Aurangabad civil surgeon Dr Surendra Prasad Singh confirmed 27 deaths due to the heatwave till late Saturday night. "Dozens are being treated for it in different hospitals," he was quoted as saying. Gaya District Magistrate Abhishek Singh confirmed 14 deaths, while another district official confirmed five deaths in Nawada. In both the districts, more than 60 people are being treated for heatwave.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed grief over the deaths and announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of the victims. The government has also issued a heat alert in the wake of the rising death toll and advised people to take care while going outside during day time. While, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan also expressed concern over the deaths saying, "It's very unfortunate that people have died due to heat stroke. I advise people to avoid moving out of house till temperature reduces. Intense heat affects brain and leads to various health issues."
Meanwhile, the Bihar government on Saturday said all schools in the city will remain closed till June 19 in view of the prevailing weather condition. Patna district magistrate Kumar Ravi said all government and private schools of Patna will remain shut till June 19, due to persisting heatwave-like condition for the past several days, an official release said.
A number of private schools were scheduled to open in the week starting June 17 after the summer vacation. This is the second time the district administration has extended suspension of academic activities in schools due to the weather.
(With inputs from agencies)