50 diarrhoea cases reported in D’sala village

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, July 10

As many as 50 cases of diarrhoea have been reported from Sarah village here.

Chief Medical Officer, Kangra, RS Rana said villagers with complaints of vomiting started coming to the Zonal Hospital here on Monday evening. He said while 10 patients were admitted, the others were sent home after medication. He added that the situation was under control.

A team of the Health Department has been sent to the village to look for reasons behind the outbreak, which is likely due to the contamination of drinking water.

The diarrhoea outbreak is common in areas around Dharamsala, where water is sourced from natural streams coming from the hills. The chances of water contamination increase during the monsoon. Recently, several people in the Shamnagar area of Dharamsala were taken ill due to gastroenteritis caused due to contaminated water. The problem was resolved after the IPH Department cleaned all water tanks supplying drinking water to the region. Executive Engineer, IPH Department, Vikas Bakshi said they were taking all steps to ensure the supply of clean drinking water to households.

He said water was being supplied through two sources in Sarah village — a tubewell and a spring source. He said there was no chance of contamination in the tubewell water. Locals said poor condition of water pipelines could also be behind the diarrhoea outbreak. Sources said villagers had attended a marriage function and they could have fallen ill after eating contaminated food there.

The Chief Medical Officer said water samples had been sent for testing.

Water samples sent for testing

• Chief Medical Officer, Kangra, RS Rana said water samples from Sarah village here had been sent for testing. 
• The diarrhoea outbreak is common in areas around Dharamsala, where water is sourced from natural streams coming from the hills. The chances of water contamination increase during the monsoon. 
• Recently, several people in the Shamnagar area of Dharamsala were taken ill due to gastroenteritis caused due to contaminated water. The problem was resolved after the IPH Department cleaned all water tanks supplying drinking water to the region.