People stay indoors as temp soars 45°C in Prakasam

Ongole: Sweltering day temperatures in the Prakasam district are making life of the common public more uncomfortable and forcing them to be confined indoors. On Thursday, the mercury crossed 45°C in almost half of the mandals in the district. The temperature data provided by the Planning Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh, revealed that Thokapalli village of Peddaraveedu mandal registered a maximum temperature of 45.5°C, followed by several villages in Pullalacheruvu, Darsi, Podili, Pamur, Kurichedu, Mundlamuru, Konakanamitla, and Ponnaluru mandals registering 45°C.

There are many villages from mandals like Chimakurthy, Tarlupadu, Kanigiri, Markapuram, Donakonda, Yerragondapalem, Veligandla, Marripudi, Chandrasekhara Puram, Tarlupadu, Ardhaveedu, Kondepi, Dornala, Tripuranthakam which registered more than 44°C temperatures. Roadside vendors closed their businesses in the afternoon and took shelter in shadowy places. The water kiosks being organised by the voluntary organisations are offering cool water and ORS packets for the needy public.

The sugarcane juice centres, fruit juice bars, and traditional cool drink centres also enjoyed a steep increase in footfall as the public wants to refill their energy to brace the blasing sun. Meanwhile, the candidates of Assembly segments, their followers, and supporters limited their campaigns to early hours from 07:00 am to 10.00 am and late hours from 05:00 pm to 10:00 pm.