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20 die due to

heatwave in India

NEW DELHI: At least 20 people were reported dead due to a heatwave crossing the north Indian state of Bihar and causing temperatures to rise above 40­C.

According to the sources, the northern district of Bettiah (Bihar) was the worst affected, with at least eight official deaths recorded there as a result of fire.

Four children were burnt alive in their homes in the district of Samstipur and similar reports came in from at least four other districts, the sources said.

Firefighters said, more than 20 major fires were reported in the state in less than a week. They said the worst fires had been in Bihar's remote villages where many houses had thatched roofs.

More than 2,000 thatched houses were burnt down so far. The fires also killed a large number of cattle and destroyed millions of rupees worth of crops.

Such fires are common during the summer months but officials say they are concerned by the scale of the problem this year.

Bihar's Chief Fire Officer, Satguru Prasad, said, the authorities had yet to map out an effective firefighting plan for rural areas.

He said, villages without proper roads were often very inaccessible, and even in those villages with access, the roads were often in such a bad state that it took hours to reach there. Scarcity of water was another problem, he added.

Prasad called on the authorities to set up small fire booths in rural areas, which would be equipped with fire extinguishers and a large supply of water.ÑPPI