Bhubaneswar: A person from Puri district’s Kanas block died of alleged diarrhoea at Kanas community health centre on Sunday. Earlier, four people from the block died of the disease. Locals alleged that they are contracting the disease due to contaminated water.
The deceased was identified as Bharat Bhoi, 63, of Mardhapalli village in Gadasahi gram panchayat. Tapas Bhoi, the patient’s son, said he was admitted to Puri district headquarters hospital for treatment of diarrhoea. “He was discharged on Saturday. When he fell sick again, we took him to Kanas CHC, where he died,” he added.
He said some people have died of diarrhoea in his area. “A strong initiative should be taken to stop spread of the disease,” he added.
Former Satyabadi MLA Rama Ranjan Baliarsingh, along with six others, filed petitions on this issue with the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) in January. After hearing this case, the commission last month issued a notice to the health secretary and Puri district collector to take immediate steps to control the disease. The next hearing is on Feb 24.
Opposition party members are also raising this issue. They alleged that people contracted this disease after using water from the polluted Daya river. Biraja Shankar Rath, chief district medical and public health officer, Puri, said they will verify the death and then comment on the issue. “The last diarrhoea death was reported on Feb 2. No death was reported since then. Altogether four people have died of this disease,” he added.
He said they visited the affected area and set up their health camp to treat people. “We have created awareness among people to maintain hygiene and not to use Daya river water. A disinfection drive was conducted to stop the spread of this water-borne disease. We have taken all necessary steps to control the disease,” he added.