Declare compensation for heat wave victims, Rajasthan HC tells state govt

Jaipur, May 30 (IANS) The Rajasthan High Court on Thursday took suo motu cognizance of the deaths due to the heat wave and directed the state government to pay compensation to the victims' families.

Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand said that the time has come when heat waves and cold waves should be declared a national disaster and preparations should be made in advance to deal with them.

The court directed the state government to give proper compensation in case of deaths due to heat waves. Along with this, the court also issued several guidelines to the government to provide relief to the people.

The High Court said that on 18 December 2015, the Central government introduced the Death Prevention and Cold Wave Bill 2015 in the Rajya Sabha. However this bill is yet to take the form of law. The Central government has not been able to get this bill passed in the House even after more than 8-9 years.

Justice Anoop Dhand at the beginning of his order said that the earth is the only planet in the entire universe where life exists. "We have no option of shifting to another planet."

He wrote in the order that the earth is the most precious gift of God to us. This earth has given us everything. The way a mother nourishes her child, the earth has nourished us in the same way, that is why we call it Mother Earth, but today the earth is in trouble.

"We have to save this Mother Earth so that our future generations can live in a safe environment. If we do not take care today, we will lose the chance to see the future generations flourish forever."

The High Court directed the state government to effectively implement the heat wave action plan. It said that water should be sprinkled on those roads where there is more movement of people.

Shade areas should be marked on the roads and highways. Drinking water, ORS and cold drinks like mango panna should be arranged there. Labourers, cart and rickshaw pullers should be allowed to rest between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Alerts should be sent through bulk messages, print and electronic media to caution the people in case of excessive heat.

Hundreds of people have died due to severe heat across the country, but the governments are not paying attention to this, commented the High Court.

Over 50 people have reportedly lost their lives to heat waves in the state; however the government has declared four deaths only.

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