India heatwave: Soaring temperature takes toll on the elderly
Days of sweltering heat, power cuts in northern India overwhelm hospitals as death toll climbs. Debi Edward reports
Words by Sanjay Jha and Sanjana C in New Delhi for ITV News
Extreme heatwaves have swept through northern India and claimed the lives of more than 140 people with hundreds more admitted to hospital.
Most of the victims are elderly citizens in the rural hamlets of northern India in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The heatwave is merciless on the elderly population in small villages that do not have uninterrupted electrical supply to keep air conditioning units on all day.
"My 93-year-old grandfather was sitting on a chair and suddenly he collapsed," said Yashraj Singh - a resident of Karihara village in the Ballia town of Uttar Pradesh.
"My grandfather was not suffering from any ailment but was feeling very uncomfortable due to high temperature and on top of it there is hardly any electricity so life is not easy."
Dr B P Tiwari, a local health official in the Azamgarh district said deaths among the over 60s are increasing, particularly among those with "respiratory and other diseases increase."
Outpatient departments at local hospitals are reporting a huge rise in cases related to heatstroke, high fever and breathing problems with the mercury crossing above 40 degrees Celsius.
Hospitals have installed air coolers in the wards for the patients.
Dehydration, high fever and gastrointestinal disorder are the main problems of these heat-affected patients.
"Patients down with heatstroke, high fever, skin and breathing problems are reaching in large numbers and some of them are being admitted in the wards," said Dr Manish Mandal from Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) at Patna state capital of Bihar.
He added: "The number of kidney failure patients has suddenly jumped by 10 percent mainly due to high temperature which caused the imbalance in electrolytes and all such cases required urgent hospital admission."
Though heatwave alerts were issued, local people remain largely ignorant of the looming threat.
Poor healthcare facilities in these rural areas also exacerbate the suffering of these people. The overcrowded emergency ward is a macabre scene, with dead bodies and suffering patients vying for limited space.
"It was an agonising wait for over 24 hours to get medical care for my elderly family member," said Vikas Pandey who had brought his heat-stroked relative.
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