Rayagada: The situation in Rayagada district, where seven people have died of cholera, is under control and the Odisha government is closely monitoring the situation, an official said Wednesday.
The southern Odisha district, which is dominated by tribals, has a history of being hit by cholera and other water-borne diseases. Around 100 others have been affected by the acute diarrhoeal infection in Kashipur block.
“We are monitoring the daily trend and the situation is not alarming, but we need to maintain a close watch,” Health Services Director Bijay Mohapatra said at a press conference in Bhubaneswar.
Health teams have been deployed in Rayagada and Koraput districts to monitor the situation, Mohapatra said, adding that disinfection activity was also going on.
The administration is working to educate the public there about not using water from contaminated sources, the official said.
“The situation is in control now,” he said, underlining the need to stop the chain of transmission.
The Rayagada district administration is supplying clean drinking water via tankers to villages affected by cholera in the Kashipur block.
District Collector Swadha Dev Singh urged everyone to consume only the supplied water after thorough boiling and refrain from using any other water source like rivers, canals, ponds, wells and tube wells for drinking or other purposes.
Water sources and surroundings in various panchayats of Kashipur are being decontaminated and cleaned.
Neighbouring Koraput and Kalahandi districts have also been put on alert and do an immediate intervention if anyone shows symptoms.
The Koraput administration is conducting massive awareness and disinfection drive in Dasamantpur in the wake of suspected diarrhoea cases in the block.
A large disinfection drive of tube wells and wells in the bordering gram panchayat in Laxmipur is also being carried out.
PTI