Bhubaneswar, Jan 21: Four persons have died from suspected diarrhoea in Kanas block of Odisha’s Puri district, officials said on Tuesday.
District officials visited the affected villages in the district’s Kanas block, provided medicines and advised locals not to use water from Daya River. The administration has also started providing drinking water through tankers.
Puri’s chief district medical officer (CDMO), Rupabhanu Mishra, said a joint inspection was carried out in the affected villages. During discussions, locals mentioned their ongoing drinking water problems and their reliance on water from Daya River.
“Laboratory tests on Daya River water revealed contamination, making it unsafe for consumption. We have advised people not to use it,” Mishra explained.
A dedicated health team along with an ambulance has been deployed in the suspected diarrhoea-hit area, Puri collector Siddharth Shankar Swain said.
In a statement, the health department confirmed an outbreak of acute diarrhoeal disease at Jaguleipadar village in Kanas block on January 12, which spread to nearby villages along Daya river. A total of 83 people have been affected, it added. (PTI)
