The Kerala government on Thursday ordered the closure of all educational institutions including professional colleges till May 6 and instructed police, fire force and military units to avoid drills and parades during day time as part of measures to tackle the extreme heat conditions in the state.
A meeting of the state disaster management authority under the leadership of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was held on Thursday in Thiruvananthapuram to evaluate the situation in the state in the backdrop of the declaration of a 'heat wave' in several districts by the IMD and reporting of. illnesses and deaths linked to rising temperatures.
The district collectors briefed the chief minister about the situation in their respective jurisdictions and the measures they are implementing to tackle the heat conditions.
The chief minister asked the public to avoid direct exposure to sunlight between 11 am and 3 pm. Workers in construction, agriculture, roadside shops, fishing and related sectors must organize their work hours as per the earlier direction.
For school students, vacation classes must be avoided between 11 am and 3 pm. Shops and establishments with tin and asbestos roofs must be shut during these hours. Fire audits must be conducted in shops, market establishments and waste treatment centers where the possibility of fire due to heat is high.
At the meeting, the CM asked all local bodies to gear up for pre-monsoon cleanliness drives and checking of drainage systems to ensure the flow of water. Spillways and sluice gates of dams and reservoirs must be checked and all obstructions removed.
