Bhubaneswar: Summer heat has killed over 2600 people in Orissa in the past 10 years. And this year, 25 people have already died of the heat stroke. But the official figure, however, is only four.

Parts of the state are already recording temperatures above 40 degrees. And it's mostly the poor people who are more prone to the dangers of the scorching heat. But they have to keep working.

",If we bother about the heat, we will go hungry. Heat or rain, I've got to grab any job that comes my way. And a wet towel on the head is the only shield against heat,", says Pravat, a trolley rickshaw-puller.

The state government is extremely careful before conceding every heatstroke death because it has to pay Rs 10,000 from the state relief fund for each case.

And now it wants the Centre to declare heat wave a natural calamity so that heat stroke victims get an ex-gratia of one lakh rupees each.

",We have made that demand that it should get the same compensation for a natural calamity from the central government,", says Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister, Orissa.

Even the experts feel the same.

",If after very thorough inquiry it's confirmed by a magisterial and medical officer joint inquiry they should be entitled to an ex-gratia payment of 1 lakh rupees per person, but the government of India has not agreed,", says N K Sundar Ray, Special Relief Commissioner, Orissa.

After the 1998 killer heat wave that claimed over 2000 lives, people have been careful. But heatstroke deaths are reported every summer.

Although many argue that such deaths can be prevented, people slog it out in the blazing heat so that they and their families don't have to go hungry.