Diarrhoea has claimed four in the Mohana block of Gajapati district with one Hadubandhu Sahoo (50) dying of the disease on Sunday. While the number of people affected by the disease has been on the rise, the administration has so far taken no step to contain the disease, creating resentment among the locals.
Earlier, Sabita Mallick (35) and Gopinath Mallick (70) of Tainda village and Praphulla Mallick (60) of Dhepasahi village had succumbed to diarrhoea. Now, the ailment is spreading its tentacles to other villages in Tainda panchayat. The affected patients have been undergoing treatment at the Mohana Primary Health Centre (PHC).
Non-purified drinking water is the main reason behind the growing menace. The locals have alleged that the working employees of the health centre have been asking the patients’ kin to purchase essential medicines for the disease from medical stores as the hospital is short of the stock. Besides, the patients’ kin have alleged that the doctors have been neglecting the patients so far as treatment is concerned. Dr Bhanjan Kumar Sahoo, the chief of the hospital, is now in charge of the Adaba PHC.
The local residents have threatened to hold an agitation in coming days if immediate action is not taken to control the disease.