HC asks Odisha govt to form panel as jaundice cases cross 100 in Cuttack

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Feb 12, 2015 at 5:47 PM Updated On : Feb 12, 2015 at 5:49 PM

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Cuttack, Feb 12:

As the number of patients affected by jaundice by an alarming 15 in just 24 hours to cross 100 in Odisha’s millennium city, the High Court today directed the state government to form a hugh level comittee chaired by the chief secretary to monitor the situation.

2 youths go missing while taking bath in Kharasrota river in Odisha’s Jajpur; search on

One more teacher suspended for violating model code of conduct in Odisha

While the city had 89 patients on Wednesday, the number went up to 104 as 15 more patients were found affected by the disease today.

The water borne disease, which has already affected the people in Jobra, Nayak Sahi, Thoria Sahi, Badhei Sahi, Machhua Bazar and Gamhadia areas, has now spread to Patapola area in the city where two persons were found affected by it.

Residents of Patapola area have alleged that the underground pipe water supply lines have cracked as a result of which the water has been contaminated by drain water. They also said that an overhead water tank set up by the Public Health department in the recent past has been of no use as there is no water supply to the tank till date.

The district administration says it has been trying its best to curb the spread of jaundice pressing special medical teams who are conducting health check-up of the people in several localities and collecting blood samples for test.

Besides, the Health department has claimed to have launched a massive awareness drive through distribution of leaflets and announcements over loudspeakers.

While the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) authorities have claimed to have taken up cleaning up of garbage dumps as part of a massive sanitation drive, the Public Health department has apparently taken up repair and replacement of cracked water pipelines on a war-footing.

This apart, the civic authorities are also distributing halogen tablets among the people in the affected localities to disinfect the water, Health department officials claimed.

But all this effort does not appear to have made the slightest difference to the situation on the ground with new cases being reported every few hours.

“Not a single medical team has visited our area till date,” said a resident of Potapola demolishing the tall claims made by the administration.