Shahbaz Qalandar Urs: Heatwave deaths mount in Sehwan

HYDERABAD:

Six people died of heatstroke in the town of Sehwan Sharif on Sunday, the second day of the annual Urs celebrations of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar.

A woman also drowned in a canal as the mercury touched 45 degrees Celsius in this famed Dadu district town located in the foothills of the Khirthar mountains, some 146 kilometres off Hyderabad.

Edhi Foundation officials identified the deceased as Fatima Syed, Muhammad Hassan, Shabbir Ahmed, Nazakat Ali Shahdarpur, Mohammad Chuttal, Mohammad Arshad and Bashir Ahmed.



The district administration has deployed Rangers along the waterways and deputed 20 boats with divers to stop people from swimming in the Arhal Wah canal and for their rescue in case of any mishap.

Dr Moin Siddiqi, the taluka hospital medical superintendent, said eight bodies were brought to the hospital in the past two days.

A day earlier, at least 10 devotees of the 13th century Sufi saint were reported to have died of the sweltering temperature. Dadu was the country’s hottest place on Saturday with the maximum temperature recorded at 46 degrees Celsius.

Siddiqi said the health department had set up nine medical camps in Sehwan and eight more on the Indus Highway.

The 763rd annual three-day Urs of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was inaugurated on Saturday with the usual festivities.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2015.