Cholera death : Chief Secretary to verify the casualty figure

Bhubaneswar, Aug 30 (UNI) Orissa Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal today directed Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy to verify the number of people died of Cholera in undivided Koraput district.

The Revenue Minister who along with the Chief Secretary visited Koraput and Rayagada, the worst cholera affected districts told newsmen here that a voluntary organisation had submitted report to him saying that as many as 118 people have died in Dasmanthpur block of Koraput district alone.

Mr Samal said "since many of the people died of malaria and many others have gone to work outside the district", I have asked the Chief Secretary to verify the casualty.

The Minister said since the outbreak of the disease in August only 89 people have died in three districts of Rayagada and Koraput and Kalahandi.

While 50 people died of the disease in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, 33 died in Dasmantpur in Koraput district and six in Thuamul-Rampur block of Kalahandi district.

Most of the deaths occurred outside the hospitals before the patients brought to the hospital.

He said the situation was under control both in Kashipur and Dasmantpur and claimed that the situation would be normal in a couple of days.

Mr Samal said as a preventive measures 25 medical teams in Kashipur and 17 medical teams in Dasmantpur were working round the clock. Free food, Medicine ,Clothes,soaps, mats and bottled water was being provided to the patients and their attendants.

Arrangement was also made to bring the patients from remote areas to the health centres.

Inflow of patients to the hospital have come down and only four patients were admitted to the hospital in Kashipur today compared to 43 yesterday and 47 the day before yesterday,the Minister said.

Similarly in Dasmantpur also only 26 people admitted to the hospital today compared 63 yesterday and 67 the day before yesterday.

Mr Samal said as per the official sources altogether 75 people have died in Koraput and 53 in Rayagada during the last three months. The figure also included deaths due to malaria and other reasons, he said.

The collectors were asked to provide old age pension, widow pension on the spot and provide more labour intensive works in the area.

He dismissed the Congress allegations as baseless that the people in the district had no food to eat and were eating mango kernels. The Minister said the people were demanding for more APL rice and arrangement had been made to rush APL rice to the area.

UNI