The premises of the State Bank of India (SBI) main branch here bears a deserted look now. The reason is 24 of its staffs are suffering from jaundice and on leave.
Jaundice, a water-borne disease, has gripped some parts of the Sambalpur town for a few months now with a large number of denizens suffering from it. People blame the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) for the spread of the disease.
“The PHED has failed to supply safe drinking water. leakages in the water supply pipes all over the town are clearly visible. But authorities are yet to take measures to clean the contaminated water and to curb disease,” lamented some residents.
So far as the SBI is concerned, 18 staffs were suffering from the disease till October 28. But the number has increased to 24 as on Friday. One of their staff members Maheswar Sahu has breathed his last due to jaundice,” bank sources informed.
The bank has been recording low transactions in these days due to absence of staffs. Customers are also facing acute problems.
However, when contacted, officials said line departments like the Public Health, Urban Development and Health have now joined hands to curb the menace.
“The PHED is seriously working to detect and close the leakage points,” informed Executive Engineer Manoranjan Nanda.
Sambalpur Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Dr JK Samantaray said jaundice has spread its wing due to contaminated water use. “Contaminated water is the only reason behind spread of the disease,” he said, informing that the number of the patients has increased remarkably.
“Water in the main tank may be pure but it gets contaminated by the time it reaches houses. The water has been proved jaundice positive,” said a medicine specialist of the town who is getting more jaundice patients for treatment these days.