HamirpurThe number of people falling ill after allegedly drinking contaminated water in a dozen villages of Nadaun subdivision of Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur district increased to 535 on Sunday. People in a dozen villages including Banah, Jandgi Gujran, Jandali Rajputan, Panyala, Pathiyalu, Niyati, Rangas Chowki Har, Thane and Shankar have been affected by the outbreak of water-borne diseases.
Rangas panchayat pradhan Rajeev Kumar said earlier in the day that the number of sick people had crossed 300. Some patients have been referred to hospitals in Hamirpur. Officials later said that the number has now reached 535. He said that two to three people in every household have fallen ill after consuming contaminated water provided by the Jal Shakti Department.
It is believed that the high concentration of bacteria in the water is causing the disease, Kumar said. He attributed this to the contamination of the pit from which the water is supplied.
Villagers said unfiltered water was supplied from an under-construction tank, which led to the outbreak. Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, who is also the MLA from Naudan, has directed the district administration and health department to take proper care of the patients and ensure there is no shortage of medicines and other items.
He has also sought a complete report from state and district level agencies. Under the direct supervision of Chief Medical Officer (Hamirpur) Dr RK Agnihotri, health department teams have reached the affected villages to provide treatment to the people. The officials of Jal Shakti Department have swung into action. It has stopped water supply to the affected villages and sent samples for testing.
A junior engineer of the department said that bottled water was being distributed among the people after the supply was cut off. Deputy Commissioner Debashweta Banik said essential medicines, ORS packets, chlorine tablets and other materials were delivered to the villages through doctors, health and ASHA workers.