Diarrhoea leaves 4 dead, over 200 ill

Varanasi, Aug 10 (UNI) At least four people, including three children have died and over 200 others were being treated for diarrhoea in Adampura and adjoining localities here allegedly due to supply of contaminated water.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) A P Singh said today four people including three minors and one Shekhar Upadhayay (30) have died of diarrhoea in Adampura during the last 72 hrs.

''Supply of contaminated water is the prime cause behind the outbreak of the water borne disease, that was first reported in Adampura a week ago,'' Dr Singh added.

Meanwhile, the health camp in charge in Naya Mahadev locality -- the worst affected part of Adampura -- informed as many as 114 fresh cases of the disease have been reported at the camp over the last 72 hours. Sources said 60 fresh cases had been reported from other parts of Adampura and Jaitpura, besides Chetganj, since August 8.

Besides district hospital, 30 patients were being treated for diarrheoa at the Jamia Hospital and Bunkar Hospital, sources added.

District Magistrate Rajiv Agrawal took stock of the situation by visiting Naya Mahadev area yesterday and issued directions to authorities to tackle the health menace on war footing. Water samples had been collected for lab testing from affected localities by both health department and Jal Sansthan, Dr Singh said.

Work has begun for spotting and repairing choked sewage lines, besides plugging the leakage from water supply pipelines, General Manager of Jal Sansthan D K Sharma said.

Local MLA Shyam Deo Roy Chaudhary today visited the Naya Mahadev locality and has asked the district authorities to ensure the outbreak of disease is tackled promptly.

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