8-year-old boy dies of ‘diarrhoea’ in Patiala

Patiala, July 16

Abhijot Singh, an eight-year-old boy of Hira Bagh here, allegedly died of diarrhoea on Sunday. The family of the deceased alleged that he had drunk the water being provided by the Municipal Corporation.

No outbreak in area

The water is being supplied by the Municipal Corporation only after proper testing at a government lab. There is no issue in the water and no outbreak has been reported in the area. Jiwanjot Kaur, MC Joint Commissioner

Jaswinder Singh, a relative of the boy, said the latter had complained of diarrhoea on Saturday night after which he was taken to a private hospital. When his situation worsened on Sunday morning, he was taken to Rajindra Hospital where he died during treatment, Jaswinder said.

“Abhijot had consumed the water provided by the MC in water tankers. He died due to asphyxiation after vomit got stuck in his windpipe,” he said. MC Joint Commissioner Jiwanjot Kaur claimed that the water being provided by the corporation was clean and chlorinated.

Civil Surgeon Dr Raminder Kaur said the child was gasping for breath when taken to Rajindra Hospital and died during treatment. Asked about the quality of water being provided by the MC, she said a few people in the area had reported stomach pain, but there was no spread of diarrhoea. She said the administration would carry out a post-mortem examination of the boy’s body.

Health officials collected water samples from the area for testing.