115 fall sick as diarrhoea outbreak caused by contaminated water supply in Gazipur worsens

Swinging into the action, the health department organised a medical camp in the Gazipur village in Zirakpur, which saw diarrhoea outbreak caused by contaminated water supply

A day after 15 people fell ill after consuming contaminated water in Gazipur village of Zirakpur, 115 more cases of diarrhoea were reported from the village.

115 cases of diarrhoea were reported from the Gazipur village, which was affected by supply of contaminated water. (AFP)

Swinging into the action, the health department reached the site and organised a medical camp in the village.

Assistant civil surgeon Dr Renu Singh, who was part of the visiting team said a camp was organised and medicines were given to the patients. She further said the team also conducted door-to-door surveys and samples were taken, adding that three patients had to be admitted to the civil hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula.

Zirakpur municipal corporation (MC), meanwhile, supplied water tankers to the village.

The water supply department’s sub-divisional engineer (SDE) Karamjeet Singh said the leakages had been plugged, adding that they have collected water samples. He said authorities are looking into the private company action of laying wires without requisite permission, which damaged the water supply pipes and led to the outbreak, and are in process of lodging a police complaint.

Dera Bassi sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Swati Tiwana also visited the village on Monday and took stock of the situation, later directing the water supply department to check their supply again before restoring it to the affected areas.

Notably, the supply of contaminated water has been a longstanding problem in Zirakpur. In August last year, a cholera outbreak in the Baltana area, where a three-year-old girl and 30-year-old man succumbed to the infection, saw more than 400 cases being reported from three localities including Ekta Vihar, Ravindra Enclave, and Harmilapur.

Similarly, in July last year, a nine-year-old boy died and around 400 people got infected due to a cholera outbreak in Abheypur and Budhanpur villages in the neighbouring Panchkula district.