Heat wave abating: 117 dead so far

New Delhi, May 10: A drop in the maximum temperature in most parts of the country to-day brought some relief from the current hot spell which has so far claimed 117 lives in different States. Fifteen children died of sunstroke in Nagpur to-day bringing the toll in the Nagpur region to 54. The heat spell claimed five more lives in the Bhadrachalam sub-division of Andhra Pradesh yesterday. This brought the total deaths in the sub-division during the current heat spell to nine. An old woman died of sunstroke at Orai in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, bringing the death toll in the State to 14. Unofficial reports said the heat wave had taken a toll of at least 12 persons in Bihar during the past fortnight, bringing the tally to 44. Many schools in Hazaribagh have been closed a week in advance. But there was a general fall in temperature in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Western Uttar Pradesh and the heat wave was abating in Orissa, coastal areas and eastern Rajasthan. A dust storm in Chandigarh brought down the temperature in the Union Territory and the surrounding areas. Heat also brought good tidings to the Bhakra complex. With snow melting, the inflow at Gobindsagar reservoir had reached 45,000 cusecs during the first ten days of the month. This was six times the normal rate.