Bathinda/Chandigarh, May 22
The ongoing severe heat wave in the region has claimed five lives in the past 24 hours, taking the total toll to 15. In Jalandhar, a cyclist, identified as Pala, suddenly collapsed near APJ College on Mahavir Marg. A passer-by tried to give him water but he fell unconscious. He was immediately rushed to the civil hospital, where he was declared as brought dead by doctors, who cited heat stroke as the reason for his death.
In Bathinda, a volunteer orgnanisation, Sahara Jan Seva, claimed that its members come across four persons lying dead in various parts of city due to extreme heat conditions. The president of the body, Vijay Goyal, said the victims included a 30-year-old photographer, identified as Surjeet Singh of Miyan village.
An unidentified person was found lying dead on the road in Jandawala village. His body was handed over to the volunteers by the Nehianwala police. The Kotwali police also handed over the body of a 60-year-old person, who was found outside the municipal corporation office, to the volunteers. Another senior citizen collapsed near lake number one and was taken to the civil hospital where doctors declared him as brought dead.
Earlier, the Sahara Jan Seva volunteers and the Hanuman Seva Samiti members claimed that over half-a-dozen persons had died due to harsh weather conditions in the area.
Bathinda assistant civil surgeon IB Aggarwal said the heat stroke could be an additional reason for the cause of death in the reported cases and that the victims could be already suffering from other ailments.
(With inputs from Shivani Bhakoo).
