Heatwave: Amidst over 160 heatstroke deaths caused by an extreme heatwave which has scorched parts of the country, especially northern India, since the onset of summer this year, now even animals are bearing the brunt of the intense weather as a pack of wild monkeys reportedly drowned in an irrigation well in Palamu district of Jharkhand while the simians were attempting to quench their thirst.
Forest officials said the cadavers of the monkeys were fished out on Sunday in Sorath village in Panki block of Palamu district but it is not certain when they drowned.
“A total of 32 wild monkeys were found dead in an irrigation well in Sorath… the corpses were fished out,” Medininagar Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Kumar Ashish told news agency PTI.
The area is reeling under an intense heatwave with temperatures touching 44-45 degrees Celsius leading to drying up of water sources which prompts wild animals to throng villages to find ways of quenching their thirst.
“Sources of water in the area have almost dried up… wild animals are coming to villages to quench their thirst… these monkeys apparently drowned during their bid to quench their thirst,” the official said.
He said the irrigation well in which the monkeys died, had ample water and autopsy reports of the deceased animals is awaited.
Notably, a few days ago, three jackals wandering in search of water in Chainpur forest died in a well, he said.
Jharkhand, akin to many other parts of the country, is battling intense heatwave conditions which has so far claimed over 160 lives in the past few weeks. Last week, four persons died of sunstroke in Jharkhand while 1,326 others were admitted to various hospital amid sweltering heat in most parts of the eastern state.
All district hospitals and other medical facilities have been asked to set aside air-conditioned rooms and empty beds for heatstroke patients, officials said.
(With PTI inputs)
