Record heat has leaders reeling in Kerala

KOCHI: With another nineteen hot and humid days to go for the assembly polls in Kerala, candidates are literally feeling the heat of campaigning. The Indian Meteorological Department has brought no respite either by predicting a heat wave in the next two days.

The oppressive heat had forced many candidates to reschedule their day programmes in many places. The temperature has reached a record 42 degrees in Palakkad, the district where the Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan is contesting.

“VS has reduced his programmes to just 1 meeting in the morning and 2 in the evening,” said his personal staff members. BJP’s former state president V Muralidharan says that he has not cut down his campaign time. “I drink a lot of water and work full day.” But he adds that in many places in his constituency people complain about shortage of drinking water.

CM Oommen Chandy has convened a meeting to review the drinking water problem and drought conditions. The extreme heat has affected production of major crops coffee and cardamom. Meanwhile, filmstar Mammootty has come forward with a scheme to provide water and food to those cannot go out to work because of extreme heat conditions. A meeting of voluntary agencies and people who are ready to cooperate with the programme is being convened on Thursday.