Puri: Several families residing near the 12th century shrine, Shri Jagannath Temple, here are suffering from diarrhea after consuming contaminated water. Two persons, Padmacharan Khuntia and Basanti Dash, have already succumbed to their ailment.
According to Siumendra Muduli, a senior servitor whose family has been affected by diarrhea, the ongoing Parikrama project near the 12th century shrine damaged the underground water pipeline, thereby contaminating the drinking water supply in the area. Most of the affected people are residents of Families living in Baseli Sahi and Gochhikar Sahi, located near Srimandir Prikrama Corridor, said Jayant Kumar Sarangi, local MLA and a resident of Baseli Sahi.
Incidentally, Puri was the first city in the country to receive 24/7 quality piped water supply under the Odisha government’s “Sujan – Drink From Tap Mission.”
While several cases of diarrhea is being reported from the slum areas under the jurisdiction of Puri Municipality, the authorities applied bleaching powder to drinking water sources in the area on Saturday. The district administration has also sent a special team to conduct a door-to-door survey in the area to ascertain the cause of rampant spread of the disease.
Since December 11, 23 affected people have received treatment at the Puri Government Hospital and currently two patients are under treatment.
