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Mohali’s Kumbra village in grip of cholera, diarrhoea: Patient count now 71
Senior officials, including Mohali MC commissioner Navjot Kaur, reviewed the arrangements of potable water for the residents as the water supply has been disconnected
Amid cholera and diarrhoea outbreak in Mohali’s Kumbra village, the number of patients reached 71 after 25 cases were reported on Thursday. Health officials said 11 patients were admitted to the civil hospital in Phase-6 and others were given medicines by the health teams stationed at the local dispensary in Kumbra. Doctors said only three cholera patients have turned up.
Even when the families and neighbours claimed that a five-year-old girl and a 45-year-old man residing next door to the girl died due to stomach infection and vomits, doctors at the civil hospital denied any death due to the outbreak citing that no such patients came for the treatment and thus they don’t have any record.
Notably, deceased’s elder sister is also undergoing treatment for diarrhoea at local civil hospital. She was admitted to the hospital a few hours after her five -year-old sister died at her house on Tuesday at 5 am.
“The girl vomited once and there is a possibility that it aspirated into her lungs. We, so far, have no death due to the outbreak and the situation is under control,” district epidemiologist Dr Harmandeep Kaur said.
However, Sripal, 45, a carpenter, according to his neighbours, died due to stomach infection too but the health department denied the same. Kusum, who resides in the neighbourhood of both Sripal and Naina, said everyone in their village is suffering from diarrhoea and Sripal was also suffering from stomach infection following which he spewed out twice.
“Now Sripal’s wife is also admitted to the civil hospital. My family members are also sick following which we went to take medicine from the local dispensary. After not much effect, we had to see a child specialist in Mataur,” Kusum added.
However, a senior doctor at civil hospital in Mohali said there is a possibility that the man died of some other reason as he did not turn up for treatment.
BJP district president Sanjeev Vashisht, who interacted with the villagers and the patients, accused the local administration of hiding the deaths due to the outbreak.
Meanwhile, senior officials, including Mohali MC commissioner Navjot Kaur, reviewed the arrangements of potable water for the residents as the water supply has been disconnected.
“We are continuously providing water tankers in the area and residents have been strictly instructed to use that water for drinking. Our teams are visiting all houses and are directing the villagers to not drink water from any shallow tube well. Our teams have checked the area but contamination of water due to potable water getting mixed with sewage water was not found anywhere here. The sewers are getting cleaned regularly. Residents here are using shallow tube wells and a few residents have made underground water tanks, which were not cleaned by them and might have caused the outbreak,” MC Commissioner said.
Meanwhile health teams under supervision of Dr Haramandeep Kaur checked patients.
On other hand, even after the sanitation teams asked the residents not to do any construction work fearing breakage of pipes further contaminating the potable water; the construction work continued in the area, including installation of a submersible which has been banned across state due to falling levels of groundwater.
