Deaths avoidable

POORLY-BUILT shelters, the lack of proper blankets and sanitation facilities are something we hear about every year come the intense cold. And this is in Delhi, which is comparatively better off than many other towns and cities. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), more than 1 600 people died due to extreme weather conditions across India last year, with the severe heat wave claiming 40 percent of the total deaths.The IMD said 2016 was the warmest year recorded, globally as well as in India. Phalodi in Rajasthan recorded 51°C, the highest in India. Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra registered the highest number or fatalities, 35 percent of the total.

All these deaths were avoidable. The various ministries concerned have not even seen it fit to declare a heat wave as a national calamity though a cold snap is. If a national calamity is declared, a lot of measures kick in, which could help people withstand the weather conditions. Many of those who die due to extreme weather are construction workers, migrants and the homeless. Most cities or for that matter employers make little or no provision for them.

But every time we seem to be caught on the wrong foot. The heartening thing, as we saw in the Chennai floods, is the large-heartedness of citizens in lending a helping hand. The flooding, it has now been proved, was a result in part of rampant construction on river banks, with no thought of the consequences. In the case of heat waves, a cost-effective method is to provide people with oral rehydration kits. But most of all, people should have some sort of shelter.

Both extremes of cold and heat affect productivity and it is in the enlightened self-interest of both employers and the state to enforce more mitigating measures.

We have a lot to learn from the West on the subject of shelters and soup kitchens that can ease the hardship of so many people who are left to the mercy of the elements, and who contribute to the economy in different ways.