‘This heat is like a nightmare’

Telangana bakes under days of scorching, high temperatures

If you go by the state government officials in Telangana, the 10-day heatwave has come to an end.

However, there’s still no let up in the intensity of the scorching summer heat.

The heat was still forcing people indoors in many parts of the state including Hyderabad, with roads and marketplaces deserted.

“For the last two days there has been no heatwave in the state and the final toll we have for the state is 215 since April 15,” B.R. Meena, state commissioner for disaster management, said.

But the local media continues to report higher figures, with 39 more deaths reported from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over the last 24 hours, taking the toll to 556.

“It has been an unbearable summer for the poor like us,” said Moula Raheem Bakhsh, a banana seller near the historic Charminar as he covered his head and face with a towel to save himself from the merciless sun.

“This heat is like a nightmare. With hardly any people daring to come, the business is down. I can’t afford to stay at home as I have to take care of my family.”

In other parts of the city the situation was no better than the last week or ten days, with daily wage earners the hardest hit.

Two members of the special security force on duty at the Telangana state secretariat collapsed due to sunstroke yesterday.

A passenger in his thirties, who boarded a bus at Kamareddy for Warangal in Telangana at noon on Monday, died during the journey. His body was found in the last rows of the bus.