Bhubaneswar: Fresh cases with diarrhoea-like symptoms have been reported from the Odisha capital.
According to sources, six students of Gandhi Vidyapith Higher Secondary School have been admitted to Capital Hospital here after they complained of severe vomiting and diarrhoea. A team from the health department has been stationed on the premises to monitor the situation. Water samples have also been collected from four places of the college and its hostel and sent to the laboratory for testing.
“Five cases have been reported near Khandagiri. Our surveillance teams have reached the spot to ascertain whether it is due to water or food contamination. Appropriate steps are being taken for the treatment of those affected,” Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Mayor Sulochana Das told reporters on Monday.
She said that discussions are being held with WATCO pertaining to contamination of tube well or piped water connections. “We have also taken up the issue with Chief Minister Mohan Majhi. A detailed project report is being prepared for cleaning Daya waste canal and Gangua Nullah,” she said.
Last week, around 150 people of Nilamadhab Niwas, a slum dwellers rehabilitation colony, were affected, triggering panic in the locality. They complained of loose motion, fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, and body ache. Several among them were treated at a local health camp set up by the city health administration while five critically-ill patients were referred to Capital Hospital for specialised care.
The BMC team later found water contamination inside the sump tank, which was cleaned and disinfected.