First diarrhoea death in Panchkula village, toddler succumbs
Panchkula, June 3
A one-year-old died of diarrhoea at the Sector 6 Government Hospital on Sunday evening. In over a week-long spree of rising diarrhoea cases, about 444 individuals, including women and children, have taken ill from diarrhoea due to contamination of water in Budanpur village. Officials from the State Health Department visited the area on Monday.
As many as 38 new cases of diarrhoea were recorded in the village on Monday. Officials said the total count of diarrhoea cases today rose to 444. They said that as of now, the Health Department has collected 30 samples of water and 20 samples of stool from the area, of which three tested positive for cholera.
Doctors said a one-year-old who was brought to the hospital on Monday had died with symptoms of diarrhoea. “The one-year-old was a resident of the Budanpur area. The boy was brought to the hospital on Sunday and was very weak. He died during treatment,” said Civil Surgeon Dr Mukta Kumar.
She said the drinking water being used in the area was the cause of the rising cases. She said, “The drinking water in the area is not potable. We have collected and checked numerous samples of water in the area. Over 50 per cent of them failed the quality test. The spread of diarrhoea in the area is due to a lack of potable drinking water. Therefore, we are sending updated reports of the situation to the office of Deputy Commissioner.”
The Health Department has also established a medical camp in the area to provide necessary medication to the residents.
Meanwhile, officials of the Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) said they are providing clean water in the area. HSVP Superintending Engineer (SE) Rajesh Sharma said officials collected water samples and got them checked. “The samples passed the quality test,” he said.
He said a visit to the area showed that the owners of plots in the area have divided the houses into multiple segments. Numerous families live in these small, makeshift concrete houses, where water supply pipelines have been installed in a haphazard manner.
