UP Heatwave: 166 Die Of Extreme Heat In Single Day, Power Cuts Spark Widespread Protests

UP Heatwave Alert: 166 people died in a single day on Thursday in Uttar Pradesh owing to heatwave-related causes.

At least 40 suspected heat-related deaths were reported in India on Friday, with 25 of the victims being employees who were assigned on polling duties for the seventh phase of Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during the country's widespread heatwave. The maximum number of fatalities on Friday were 17 in Uttar Pradesh, 14 in Bihar, five in Odisha, and four in Jharkhand, where officials said more than 1,300 people were hospitalised due to heatstroke.

According to the India Meteorological Department, the Kanpur (IAF) weather station recorded the highest temperature in the country at 48.2. Sirsa in Haryana was the second hottest, with a temperature of 47.8 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature in Delhi was 47 degrees Celsius, recorded in Ayanagar.

Record-Breaking Temperatures In UP

The heat is intensifying in Uttar Pradesh, with temperatures breaking records every day. According to an Amar Ujala report, 166 people died in a single day on Thursday in UP owing to heatwave-related causes. 15 election staff died after suspected heatstroke in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur and Sonbhadra districts on Saturday, a day ahead of the polling for the Lok Sabha elections.

In Sonbhadra district, two polling staff died due to heat-related causes while nine personnel are being treated at a hospital. While thirteen poll personnel stationed in Mirzapur died at a hospital on Friday due to suspected heatstroke.

In Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi, two people including an elderly woman, died following heat stroke on Thursday.

Power Outages And Protests

The frequent power outages caused by overloading and increasing demand has prompted locals to take to the streets in protest and there have also been reports of power houses being gheraoed. In some places, power supply workers were assaulted, and stores were vandalised. 

Several districts, including Lucknow, Jhansi, and Lakhimpur Kheri, witnessed violent protests. Traders staged a protest in Raebareli. A similar incident took place in Ayodhya.