Heat wave: Summer vacation extended in Odisha schools

Bhubaneswar, June 16 (IANS) The Odisha government Saturday announced the extension of the summer vacation in schools by a week in view of an unabated heat wave sweeping the state which has so far claimed 37 lives this summer.

According to a notification issued by the school and mass education department, all schools in the state would now open June 25 instead of June 18.

All schools, including private, public and English medium, have been told to follow the instruction strictly, School and Mass Education Minister Pratap Jena told reporters.

Meanwhile, the mercury continued to hover around 40 degrees Celsius in several places with the coastal Balasore town, about 220 km from here, Saturday recording 41.8 degree Celsius, the day's highest temperature in the state.

Other places which witnessed around 40 degrees Celsius include Sambalpur, Talcher, Bhabanipatna and Titilagarh. The capital Bhubaneswar, too, recorded a maximum temperature of 40 degrees Celsius.

The death toll due to sunstroke in the state now stands at 37, an official of the state disaster management department told IANS.