No let-up in diarrhoea cases in Patiala, BJP calls AAP insensetive

Patiala, July 25

The diarrhoea outbreak in the city shows no signs of abating. After an elderly resident was suspected to have died due to diarrhoea on Tuesday, seven more cases surfaced from New Yadvindra Colony today, which has become a new hotbed of diarrhoea.

So far, over 116 cases of diarrhoea have been reported from New Yadvindra Colony and surrounding areas. This marks the fourth incident of a diarrhoea outbreak since the beginning of July. Earlier, over 100 cases were reported from Patran, Jhill village and Mohindra Colony.

The deceased has been identified as 72-year-old Madan Lal, who was suspected to be suffering from diarrhoea for three days. Following his death, teams from the Health Department and the Municipal Corporation mobilised to the affected areas, including the factory area, Abchal Nagar, New Yadvindra Colony and the grain market.

The matter today snowballed into a political issue, with BJP leader Sanjeev Sharma Bittu accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) regime of being insensitive to the residents’ plight.

He said neither the AAP leaders visited the house of the diarrhoea victim nor did they provide any financial aid. Bittu visited the affected area and said the deceased’s son, Jagdeep, was also suffering from diarrhoea and the family had performed the late rites with great difficulty.

He claimed that few of the people were admitted to Rajindra Hospital, and scores of residents were undergoing treatment at their local dispensaries. The Health Department collected 20 water samples, and the MC water supply and sanitation team inspected opened pipes where contamination was suspected.

The Health Department teams distributed chlorine tablets and ORS packets to residents. Additionally, the Municipal Corporation has halted the water in affected areas and stationed water tankers at various locations to ensure residents have access to clean water.

The New Yadvindra Colony has accused the MC of negligence and said they had been complaining about dirty water from the pipeline in the colony; however, no action was taken. They said it was after deaths were reported and people fell ill with diarrhoea that the pipeline excavation work began.

Civil Surgeon Dr Sanjay Goyal claimed the situation was under control and there had been a significant decline in cases. “Our teams are conducting door-to-door surveys, and further action will be taken as required.” He said the cause of Madan Lal’s death was being investigated.