Guntur records 165 sunstroke deaths

As many as 165 persons have died of sunstroke in this district of Andhra Pradesh since April 1, official sources said.

The deaths were reported between April 1 and June 1. The deceased were mostly senior citizens, they said. In Andhra Pradesh, the kin of persons who die due to sunstroke are given ex-gratia under `Apatbandhu' scheme. To claim the compensation, an FIR has to be first registered in the police station concerned.
This is followed by post-mortem to ascertain the cause of death. But in most cases, family members of such victims oppose post-mortem examination. Therefore, District Collector S Suresh Kumar some time back wrote a letter to the State Government seeking relaxation in this rule, the sources said.
In response, the Government said a joint report by the police officer, medical officer and tehsildar (revenue official) concerned about the cause of death is sufficient to claim ex-gratia, they added.
PTI