Bhubaneswar: Uproarious scenes were witnessed in the Odisha Assembly on Saturday after the Opposition Congress cornered the state government over six suspected diarrhoea deaths in Kashipur block of Rayagada district.
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Narasingha Mishra raised the issue during Zero Hour and sought a statement from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
“The state government is number one in implementation of the National Food Security Act in the country. However, people in Kashipur block are still deprived of food security,” he said.
The Congress leader claimed that tribal people, with no access to proper food, were living on mango kernel and liquor, resulting in deaths.
Mishra demanded a statement from the CM to know the circumstances leading to the deaths in Kashipur.
Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati also urged Speaker B K Arukh to direct the CM to make a statement.
Rayagada MLA Makaranda Muduli has asked the state government to take urgent steps before the diarrhoea outbreak turns into cholera. He has requested the government to send a high-level medical team to the area.
As the Speaker refused to give a ruling immediately on the issue, Congress members created uproar in the House, which led to adjournments, once for 10 minutes and again for 15 minutes.
Later, the Speaker asked Parliamentary Affairs Minister Niranjan Pujari to make a statement in the Assembly on the issue on Monday.
Six persons have died of suspected diarrhoea in Kashipur block in the last three days.
Several others have reportedly contracted the disease and undergoing treatment at Tikiri and Kashipur hospitals.
According to latest reports, 11 girl students of Thutibar Ashram School in Rayagada are suspected to have contracted diarrhoea and have been admitted to the Tikiri Primary Health Centre.
Notably, Kashipur block reports deaths due to water-borne diseases every year. Over 100 people had died of diarrhoea in 2008 while cholera had claimed as many lives in 2010.
