New Delhi: The Census 2027 commenced after Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke in the Parliament, but the work started with a horrific incident as two schoolteachers who were assigned to complete Census work died in two days, allegedly due to sunstroke in Odisha.

One teacher was assigned in Mayurbhanj and another in the Sundargarh district, officials said on Monday. The temperature has reached over 37 degrees Celsius.

The teacher from the Mayurbhanj district, Rajkapur Hembram, a teacher of Baidyanath High School under the Betnoti block, died on Sunday evening.

Hembram was on duty to do the Census door-to-door; on his return to his house, he was unconscious, and the family took him to a nearby hospital. He died while undergoing treatment in the hospital.

Baidyanath High School headmistress, Mamata Das, said that Hembram complained about the discomfort he was facing after returning from census work. Three villages were given to Hembram for census enumeration.

His family members alleged that despite facing discomfort, the authorities put pressure on him to continue census duty while he complained to his colleagues.

The other incident was reported from the Sundargarh district. The victim is identified as Anurag Ekka, a teacher of Jarada Government High School under the Gurundia block.

Earlier incident

He also fell ill after returning on Saturday and died on the same day. The family members took Ekka to the Gurundia community health centre and later shifted him to the district headquarters hospital, where he died.

Earlier, an enumerator allegedly died due to a heart attack after returning from census duty in Sonepur district. The Odisha government has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the Census officials who are working in hot and humid conditions.

They are advised not to go to work from 11 am to 3 pm due to the conditions and to get hydrated during fieldwork.