KOZHIKODE: The city is reeling under near heat-wave conditions with experts expressing concerns over the sweltering temperatures that have shot past 37 degree Celsius in the last few weeks. The scorching temperature has affected the vacation of the kids badly, with very few preferring for outdoor summer activities. And it is not just the summer outdoor camps that have suffered, as the classes taken by driving schools and other short term skill development centers like tailoring, craft making, cooking and fitness classes are equally affected with very few preferring to get exposed to the hot summer sun.
"We had announced commencing of our football summer camp from April 1 onwards, but less than ten students have turned up till now", said Anandakrishnan, a football coach here. Parents are scared to sent their wards for the coaching due to the rising temperature, fearing sunburns and other allergies. A driving school trainer said that the classes from the morning till 3 pm in the afternoon have no takers as students opt to come only once the temperature subsides a bit in the evening.
Meanwhile, drinking water supply has turned to be a brisk business during this summer even as some of the eateries in the city have been forced to shut owing to the shortage of the same. Talking about the shortage of water, a city resident Swarna Unnikrishnan said, "In our colony here, most of the families depend on the tankers to bring water and this time they have doubled the charges of water." Not just the water price, but the fruit price has also skyrocketed and the best example is the price of watermelon which has increased to '18 per kilogram. The health department has also stated that the increasing temperature had also led the way for more cases of dehydration and chicken pox.
