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Women in Punjab’s Muzaffargarh, students in KP’s Battagram faint due to blistering heat

Several women fainted on Friday in Muzaffargarh due to scorching heat as temperatures there reached 38 degrees Celsius while nine students of a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa school also lost consciousness due to high temperatures, officials said. City Station House Officer (SHO) Sabir Klasra told Dawn.com that he was visiting various sites as per routine when he saw a few women had fainted at a distribution centre established at a government elementary school. A boy holds an intravenous drip that is being administered to a woman who fainted at a BISP fund distribution centre in Muzaffargarh on Friday — Photo provided by Muhammad Ali He added that subsequently, he called for medical aid to be provided to the women. A video also showed the SHO fanning a woman who had collapsed. According to AccuWeather.com, the temperature in the city was recorded to be 38 degrees Celsius at around 11:45am. A press release issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) a day ago warns that “prevailing heat wave conditions are likely to subside from June 25”. It states, “Moist currents are penetrating in upper and central parts of the country from Arabian Sea and a westerly wave is likely to enter in upper parts of the country on June 25.” The advisory further forecasts “pre-monsoon rains with dust thunderstorm predicted in upper and central parts from June 25-30 with occasional gaps”. In an advisory released on June 19, the PMD forecast heatwave-like conditions in most parts of the country from June 20-24 along with a gradual increase in day temperatures. The women, who had lined up to receive aid distributed under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), complained about mismanagement at the centre and an alleged deduction from the funds. A woman complains about mismanagement at a BISP fund distribution centre in Muzaffargarh on Friday— Screengrab from video by Muhammad Ali One of them told Dawn.com that she was supposed to be paid Rs9,000 but received Rs8,500 instead, and claimed she was threatened her BISP card would be blocked if she complained about it to someone. A woman complains about mismanagement at a BISP fund distribution centre in Muzaffargarh on Friday — Screengrab from video by Muhammad Ali Another lamented that she, along with other women, was being “insulted” as the officials did not listen to their concerns. Videos showed more than two dozen people, mostly women, gathered at the distribution centre. Meanwhile, Muzaffargarh Deputy Commissioner Suleman Lodhi said that BISP District Manager Mohammad Fayaz and the city assistant commissioner had been directed to provide all necessary facilities to the people at the distribution centre. They were also ordered to register cases against the officials involved in the embezzlement of BISP funds. Two first information reports (FIRs) — registered on June 19 and 20 by BISP officials Rashid Zafar and Raheem Ali, respectively — name more than 10 “retailers and operators” collectively for being involved in “committing fraud and grabbing BISP fund’s money from the women”. The FIRs, copies of which are available with Dawn.com, invoke Section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Pakistan Penal Code. 9 students faint in KP’s Battagram Meanwhile, nine students of a government high school in Batamorai of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Battagram district fainted during the morning assembly on Friday due to high day temperatures. The school teacher, who did not want to be named, said that at around 8:30am when the morning assembly was about to end, a few students started falling to the ground, leading the teachers to take them to the side and laid them on the floor. He added that the teachers poured water on the fainted students’ heads, after which they regained consciousness. A teacher pours water on students’ heads after they fainted due to heat in Batamorai in KP’s Battagram on Friday. — Photo provided by Umar Bacha Students rest on mattresses on the ground after they fainted due to heat in Batamorai in KP’s Battagram on Friday. — Photo provided by Umar Bacha The teacher further said the morning assembly was being held “under the open sky in the scorching weather”, which may have caused the incident. Subsequently, the students were rushed to the Battagram District Headquarters Hospital, from where their parents picked them up after their medical checkups had been performed. When contacted, the district education officer, Hafiz Muhammad Nawaz confirmed the incident and said the students were in a stable condition now and had left for their homes. The daily weather forecast released by the PMD today states that temperatures are “likely to remain 4-6°C above normal in upper and central Punjab, Islamabad, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir”. The forecast for KP warns citizens, “Very hot and humid weather is expected in most districts of the province, while dust-thunderstorm may occur in Peshawar, Mardan, Bannu, Karak, Laki Marwat, Kohat, DI Khan and surrounding areas in the afternoon.” According to AccuWeather.com, the morning temperature recorded in Battagram was 39 degrees Celsius while it reached 42 degrees Celsius later in the afternoon.
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