Two polling officials die due to sun stroke

Bhubaneswar: Two polling officials died allegedly of sun stroke and two others fell critically ill in Orissa's Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts, official sources said on Thursday.

Wtih the death of the two polling officials, the toll due to alleged sun stroke in Orissa touched 30, sources said.

While the two suspected sun stroke deaths were reported from Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts, two polling officials were taken ill at Udala Assembly segment in Mayurbhaj district.

The official who died of alleged sun stroke in Mayurbhaj district on Thursday morning was identified as Pabitra Mohan Muduli.

Another official Somnath Mohanty died at Ghasipura in Keonjhar district on Wednesday night, they said.

When contacted, the election officer-cum-District Collector of Mauyrbhanj district Suresh K Vashishth told PTI that Muduli was a reserve polling official.

"We are verifying the cause of Muduli's death" the Collector said not ruling out the possibility of sun stroke.

Keonjhar District Collector-cum-election officer Swasat Mishra said death of Sumanta Mohanty was being examined. "We are taking all precautionary measures to avoid any such incident in future", he said.

Meanwhile, the officials who were taken ill were rushed to hospital. They were identified as Rahim Khilar and Dambarudhar Mahanta.

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