On 22nd of April, the hottest town in Western Odisha’s Balangir district sizzled with temperature of 47.5 degrees celcius. It was declared as the hottest place in the country by Indian Metrological Department. There is a constant rise in the temperature and currently, the temperature is around 48 degrees.
How residents manage this heat!
They stop working after 10 AM and the town comes back to life only after 6 pm. They impose a curfew in town from 11 AM to 6 PM. Roads are deserted during afternoon from 11 AM – 6 PM. No plans are made for any sorts of functions or weddings till 6 PM. This is how around 60,000 residents of Titlagarh town bear the heat till end of June. After this, the place cools down. See what Hindustan Times had tweeted!
Titlagarh hottest town, records highest temperature at 48.5 degree celsius https://t.co/k8Egt13THO pic.twitter.com/K59QPgoA1Z
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) April 26, 2016
Special dish!
For avoiding sunstroke, people depend on ‘pakhal’, a local dish which is semi-fermented stale rice that is soaked in water. Even Marwaris who eat chapatti are consuming this. After 10am, entire work stops and only pm, the life starts. By 9 AM, the heat becomes just unbearable and while going out, a wet gamchha or towel has to tied over the head for dealing with heat. They drink lot of soft drinks and buttermilk. People at homes have everything aircoolers, ACs etc, but during peak temperatures, they just don’t work.
Nowadays, water crisis is also being faced. People are needing water tankers since the level of groundwater has fallen. Moreover, the town witnesses frequent power cuts and low voltage problem due to excess heat.
