Officials of the Social Welfare Department on Thursday forced inmates of hostels to participate in sports and games events in hot sun at Madanapalle. A two-day sports and games event got under way at the Government Girls’ High School at Madanapalle at 11.30 a.m., but the students from Madanapalle, Punganur and Piler got the information only in the morning.
All the schools in the district were closed last week due to rising temperatures, and strict instructions were issued to employees concerned to serve mid-day meal before 10.30 a.m. during holidays. With the mercury shooting up, the district has been registering an alarming number of deaths since the first week of this month.
As officials of social welfare hostels could not conduct the annual sports and games meet, it was planned overnight. On the first day, the events ended at 1.30 pm.
About 165 students, including boys and girls, took part in events such as tennicoit and throw-ball. Some of the participants, who did not have even footwear, were seen rushing towards tree shades.
When agitated locals of Madanapalle, including parents of some students, questioned the organisers, a senior official informed them that he was going to retire in three months, and he was just following the instructions of his superiors. Girls said they had a harrowing time as they were not provided sports uniform and shoes. They appealed to the organisers to start the event early at least on Friday.
Madanapalle, known for its considerably cooler climate, registered 41 degree Celsius this month, said to be the highest in its history. Last year, the temperature hovered around 36-38 degree Centigrade.
