The life of common people in the country is not a value. At least in the eyes of governments and political parties, it is not visible at all. If the issue is related to the vote bank, then only the political parties can show some seriousness, but the issues like life and death of the people seem to have no concern. If this is not the case, the courts would not have to give guidelines to the governments to stop the deaths due to weather. Surprisingly, it is the responsibility of the central and state governments to save the common people from the adverse weather, but now the courts have to do this work. This raises the question of how limited the needs of governments are.
The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Center on the issue of more than 700 deaths from Heatwave. The apex court has asked what preparations are being made at the national level to deal with such a big seasonal crisis. A bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice Augustine George Christ has issued notice to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, National Disaster Management Authority and others seeking answers. This petition was filed by environment activist Vikrant Tongad. He has requested the court to implement the government -warning system, the system of giving information about the heat -warning, and the introduction of facilities like 24 -hour relief helpline.
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The petition also stated that in 2019 the National Disaster Management Authority issued national guidelines to deal with the heat, but many states and union territories have not yet worked on it. The petition also mentions that according to Section 35 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, it is the responsibility of the Central Government to make strong arrangements to deal with such disaster. Earlier, the Rajasthan High Court had expressed deep displeasure over the attitude of the officials, saying that the court’s instructions were put on hold last year. The court said that it questions the rule of law. Officers are considering themselves above the law, but the court cannot sit with eyes closed. Humans cannot be treated like animals and neither can an excuse for lack of money to save lives. The court directed the Chief Secretary to form an action plan to form a coordination committee for cradle of court orders and to prevent the heat, while issuing notice to the Union Home Ministry, Chief Secretary and National Disaster Management Authority and 10 officers of the Central and State Government and sought a reply.
In the first week of May, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked 11 states to take immediate precautionary measures for the safety of weak people, especially the economically weaker sections, external workers, senior citizens, children and homeless people, in view of the heat in the northern, central and western parts of the country. The Commission has emphasized the immediate need for integrated and inclusive measures, highlighting the NCRB data about the death of 3,798 people due to heat and heat between 2018 and 2022. The Commission has demanded the availability of standard procedures for the arrangements of shelters, supply of relief materials, amendment in work hours and treatment of diseases related to heat in a letter to the Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
In India, between 2001 and 2019, about 20,000 people died of heatwave i.e. heat. A study revealed that the possibility of deaths due to heat in men was found to be more. Another recent study states that the deaths from heatwave are also divided on caste grounds. The deaths of people belonging to marginalized communities in India, compared to other communities, were more than heat. Researchers who study say that this is a kind of ‘thermal injustice’ (heat -related injustice). Several reports such as a 2021 report of the United Nations intergrancele panel on climate change (IPCC) have warned that more extra weather events will be seen in many years in the coming years in many parts of Asia, including India. Summer records are being broken every year.
According to the Meteorological Department of India, February 2025 has been the hottest February in the last 125 years in India. The team found that between 2001 and 2019, 19,693 deaths and 15,197 deaths were recorded in India from heatstroke. However, this number may be less than the actual figures as reporting of deaths due to exposure to excessive temperature is not enough. This was said in a study published on 29 April, which was published in the scientific magazine ‘Temperator’. The study also found that the number of men who died of heatstroke were more; In this period, men’s deaths were three to five times more than women. Not only this, in addition to the disaster like Lu, thousands of people get involved in disasters like floods, excess rainfall and lightning. Such issues are not involved in the agenda of political parties. No political party announces to announce but even claims that no person will die due to such natural reasons. It is clear that in the priority of political parties, it is not to make serious efforts to prevent such deaths or include it in the election manifesto. The reason is clear that this does not increase the vote bank of the parties. There is a need to make more bureaucrats responsible for such issues than the leaders of the ruling parties. Unless there is a provision for punishment under the law for their accountability, natural disasters will continue to die every year.
– Yogendra Yogi