Sambalpur: As another patient died in diarrhoea-hit Hirakud town of Odisha’s Sambalpur on Sunday, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan wrote to the Centre to send a medical team to the affected area for taking seps to contain further spread of the disease.
With the death of one more patient, identified as Judhisthir Dhurua, while undergoing treatment in a hospital, the toll due to the water-borne disease rose to two.
As per information, the deceased was from Bhojpali locality in Hirakud town of the district.
Panic gripped the area as over 150 people fell sick in last four days. A 43-year-old man, Tikeswar Nayak from Kalupada, died on Saturday while undergoing treatment at VIMSAR in Burla.
It is alleged that consumption of contaminated water has led to the spread of diarrhoea in the town.
Around 150 people from the slum areas of Hirakud have been hospitalised and some of them were shifted to VIMSAR in Burla after their conditions deteriorated. The patients hailed mostly from Kalupada, Kadampada, Gurudwarpada and Gandhi Nagar.
While 36 patients were admitted to the health facility on March 21, 42 were admitted on March 22 and 49 of them the next day.
Voicing concern over situation, Dharmendra wrote to Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya urging him to send a medical team to Sambalur to check the spread of diarrhoea in Hirakud and adjacent areas in the district at the earliest.
In his letter, the Education and Skill Development Minister said diarrhoea situation has now posed a danger to the lives of people in the Hirakud area. Appropriate measures need to be taken to check the spread of the disease and also prevent it from spreading further, he said.
The Union Minister appraised that while contaminated drinking water is suspected to have caused the spread of the disease, locals have alleged that the low-quality water pipes have developed leakages leading to the health situation. Children and elderly persons have been victims of the situation.
Mentioning all these, the Union Minister sought the intervention of Union Health Minister to deploy a central medical team in the affected areas to provide urgent medical assistance to those affected by diarrhoea.
Dharmendra urged Mandaviya to identify the root cause of diarrhoea and initiate a ‘massive public health awareness campaign’ to prevent the disease from spreading further. He also urged him to take appropriate measures to protect the people.
It may be noted here that Dharmendra had spoken to Sambalpur CDMO Dr Sujata Rani Mishra on Saturday and urged her to take steps for providing proper healthcare to the affected people.
