Felling of trees in India's Jharkhand State blamed for heat wave

(April 28,2010) Church people and environmentalists in Jharkhand, are blaming large-scale deforestation for an unprecedented heat wave that has killed at least eight people in the eastern Indian state. Temperatures touched 47 degrees Celsius in 13 of the state’s 22 districts. Four schoolchildren and a 58-year-old man died of sunstroke on April 22 in Ranchi district. A day earlier, three children died in Simdega district. Authorities ordered schools in the state to close on April 26 for its summer vacation. Usually, schools close from May 15. Father Ignace Topno, president of All Churches Committee, an ecumenical forum, said the administration allowed the cutting of thousands of trees to widen roads and construct buildings, but undertook no re-plantation to maintain the ecology. No efforts were made to maintain the water level of ponds and dams that are now drying up, he added. Another priest, Fr. Stanislaus Runda, who lives near the popular Jonha waterfall, said the dry spell has threatened hundreds of families, who depend on tourists and many families are forced to migrate. He said that Jharkhand State normally experiences the full heat of summer in May and June, and predicted acute water shortage during these months.