Helpless rickshaw pullers in eastern India bear the brunt of severe heatwave

Record ID: 1823012

  • Title: Helpless rickshaw pullers in eastern India bear the brunt of severe heatwave
  • Date: 13th June 2024
  • Summary: KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL, INDIA (JUNE 13, 2024) (ANI- No use India) RICKSHAW-PULLER SEEN THROUGH SPOKES OF WHEEL VARIOUS OF RICKSHAW-PULLERS SEEN SITTING ON RICKSHAWS VARIOUS OF RICKSHAW-PULLERS PULLING EMPTY RICKSHAWS ON ROAD (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) RICKSHAW-PULLER, NAME NOT GIVEN, SAYING: "We are facing extreme challenges due to the heat…I am old, it is very hot, and my children
  • Embargoed: 27th June 2024 15:14
  • Keywords: Bihar India Kolkata Patna West Bengal capital change climate conservation environment government heat heatstroke heatwave hot humid illness local nature residents rickshaw puller slum temperature
  • Location: KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL/PATNA, BIHAR, INDIA
  • City: KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL/PATNA, BIHAR, INDIA
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Environment
  • Reuters ID: LVA001KEBS7KF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Rickshaw-pullers in eastern India, who are compelled to work in the open, said on Thursday (June 13), that they were helpless and were struggling to survive in the harsh weather as the severe heatwave continues to scorch the region.
    Eastern West Bengal and Bihar are among the states which are reeling under an unprecedented prolonged heatwave with the maximum temperatures touching as high as 40 degree Celsius.
    Searing temperatures beginning in March touched 50 degrees Celsius (122 F) in the capital Delhi and the nearby state of Rajasthan in May due to a confluence of factors, a trend scientists say has been worsened by human driven climate change.
    "Our situation is bleak. But what can we do? We are poor people," said a rickshaw puller from eastern Patna city.
    The rickshaw pullers were seen seeking refuge in the shade as they waited for passengers in desperate efforts to make ends meet.
    There were more than twice as many heatwave days recorded in northwestern and eastern India, as usual, this season, mainly because of fewer non-monsoon thundershowers and warm winds blowing from neighbouring arid regions into India.
    Deaths have been reported in northern and western parts of India as well, where the heatwave was particularly severe last month during national elections, as taps almost ran dry in Delhi and animals collapsed in fields.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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