MLA blames MC Commissioner for diarrhoea outbreak

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Jalandhar, July 28

The clogged sewers, old underground sewage pipes and piling up of garbage are the reasons for the outbreak of diarrhoea in Kapurthala.

However, Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjit Singh blamed the MC Commissioner for the issue.

In a statement released today, Rana Gurjit Singh stated, “I had asked for the purchase of super-suction machines for cleaning the sewerage system, but the corporation has not paid any heed to my advice due to which the people of the city are suffering. Had the corporation taken timely steps, things would not have been that worse,” he said.

He added that diarrhoea cases had been reported from Mehndi Chowk, Mehtabgarh, Bakarkhana Chowk and Sundarnagar areas where out of fear of the diarrhoea outbreak, the district administration had even stopped the drinking water supply through underground pipes.

Kapurthala MC Commissioner Anupam Kler said, “We have identified three illegal connections where water pipes are intersecting with sewage pipes due to which contamination is being caused. Due to the staff strike, the garbage was not being lifted. But it has been addressed. A place is also being identified with the help of the DC, Kapurthala, as a dedicated site for garbage from the city. We didn’t have such a site. The sewage pipelines are at least over 50-year old and we have to take that into consideration.”

Speaking on Rana’s allegations that despite tenders, the sewerage cleaning work had not been done, Kler said, “There was no negligence on my part. This is politics. The process was delayed due to the code of conduct. We have issued the work order. The cleaning is also on. Super-suction machines are working regularly. Contractors were also active in Jalandhar and the work has started in Kapurthala too. Our teams are also going house to house and teams from Chandigarh, including two Chief Engineers, are working to fix the problems.”