New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday issued a stern warning on the rising temperature and the increasing number of fires in landfills, garbage dumps and forests, saying, “The temperature is increasing rapidly in the country … we are facing fire incidents at various places. Seeing growth. Speaking to chief ministers – at a meeting to review the COVID situation in India – Modi also asked states to give priority to fire-safety audits for hospitals, factories and other buildings of public importance.
The Prime Minister said, ‘The temperature is rising rapidly… and much earlier than normal. At such a time, we are witnessing an increase in the incidents of fire in various places – forests, important buildings and hospitals in the past.
The warning by PM Modi on the issue came hours after a massive fire broke out at a government hospital in Tamil Nadu capital Chennai. While there were no casualties, 33 patients were shifted as a precaution.
A chemical factory has also caught fire in Uttar Pradesh. At the same time, the capital Delhi is also facing severe heat. The temperature is expected to reach 44 degree Celsius on Thursday. Dump yard fires – at the Ghazipur landfill in east Delhi and at the Bhalswa landfill site in the north yesterday – also suffocated the toxic air in the world’s most polluted capital.
PM Modi also said, the smoke of Bhalswa fire forced the closure of a nearby school. At the same time, parents of many students there work as waste pickers on the site. A teacher told ANI, ‘We cannot make them sit here, it will not be healthy for them at all.’
Apart from the dump yard fire, forest fires have also broken out in the northern parts of the country and adjoining areas of Mumbai. Since April 1, more than 500 forest fires in Himachal Pradesh have damaged 3,575 hectares and caused a loss of 92 lakh. Earlier this week, a fire was also reported in a slum in Haryana’s Manesar, in which one person died.
The India Meteorological Department has forecast heat wave conditions in the east, central and north-west – including Delhi – over the next five days and flagged risks to the health of infants, the elderly and people with chronic diseases. Is.
first published:April 27, 2022, 5:40 p.m.
