M A I N   N E W S

88 more die of heatwave

Labourers collect sand from the dry bed of the Mundeshari river at Harinkaola, 100 km from Kolkata, on Wednesday. — Reuters photo A little girl pumps out water to cool another kid in Allahabad on Wednesday as the mercury went up to 47° degree Celsius. — PTI photo

New Delhi/Chandigarh, June 4
As the heatwave today continued unabated across the country claiming 88 lives to take the toll so far to 1,182, Andhra Pradesh which, facing the longest and deadliest spell, sought Central assistance for the families of the victims.

For the 20th day in a row, Andhra Pradesh reeled under unprecedented heat with 74 deaths reported from various districts increasing the toll to 1,139.

Fourteen more deaths were reported from other parts of the country — six from Rajasthan, three from Punjab, two each from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and one from Gujarat.

Titlagarh in Orissa’s Balangir district was the hottest in the country with 49.1°C followed by Churu in Rajasthan where the temperature soared to 49°C.

The weather office forecasts some respite from the heat in a day or two in Delhi, Haryana, West Rajasthan and Punjab where a dust storm is likely to bring down the temperature.

Hisar in Haryana was the hottest place recording the high of 47.9°C.

The Hisar temperature was six degrees above normal and weather forecasters hold out no respite.

The heatwave sweeping across the region for the past five days, has already claimed four lives in Punjab and two in Haryana since Monday. In Jalandhar today, a rickshaw puller became the first victim of the heatwave as the mercury rose to 45.4°C, the highest this season so far.

However, tourists thronging Shimla, the capital town of Himachal Pradesh, to escape the heat of the plains were treated to a pleasant respite from the hot weather following sharp 5 mm rains accompanied by a thunderstorm this evening. The rains, besides the breaking prolonged dry spell of two weeks, made the people take out light woollens.

Kulu too experienced mild showers, which caused a fall in the maximum temperature that had been hovering around 26°C, four degrees above normal. UNI

11 more die in Pakistan

Children jump into a canal to get respite from heat near the Pakistani provincial city of Multan on Wednesday. — Reuters photo