Diarrhoea outbreak: Despite warning, Patiala MC failed to act against illegal water connections

The diarrhoea outbreak in Patiala’s Alipur Araian could have been averted had the Municipal Corporation snapped illegal water connections mainly responsible for the mixing of sewage with the supply, according to sources.

In the affected area, the water supply lines ran parallel to drains. Some of the residents had punctured supply lines to draw water without ensuring proper fixing of the breakage, resulting in the mixing of sewage water.

A source said the Health Department had expressed concern over it as early as May and had asked the civic body to immediately fix the problem as the area around Alipur Araian had seen diarrhoea outbreaks in the past.

However, Municipal Commissioner Paramvir Singh said they had prepared a list of vulnerable areas.

“The public health department of the Municipal Corporation had carried out a general checking. Contaminations was not detected in the area from where the diarrhoea outbreak has been reported,” he said.

So far, 117 diarrhoea cases have been reported from the Alipur Araian area. Four people, including a two-year-old girl, have died due to the infection. Another source said the Health Department had recommended a leakage test and immediate disconnection of illegal supply lines in May.

The district administration subsequently wrote to the Municipal Corporation (MC) seeking compliance but the directions were never fully executed, a senior health official said. “A timely intervention could have averted this crisis,” the officer said, adding that their warnings were ignored.

Meanwhile, the civic body launched crackdown on illegal connections after officials found that only 30 of approximately 1,000 households in Alipur Araian had legal water connections.

The civic body has so far disconnected nearly 10 illegal water lines. Municipal Commissioner Paramvir Singh visited the affected locality after reports improper chlorination emerged. He confirmed that five to six leakage points had been identified and plugged by the engineering wing.

He also announced that fresh water would now be supplied via tankers filled from the nearby Verka Milk Plant.

The order was issued following the failure of water purity tests on previous tankers. These tankers were thoroughly cleaned before resuming service.

Mayor Kundan Gogia said all necessary steps were being taken to stop the spread of diarrhoea and residents were being encouraged to install legal water connections.

“A legal connection is available for just Rs 1,000. I appeal to residents to get their connections regularised,” he said.

21 hotspots in city

Meanwhile, the district administration has identified 21 diarrhoea hotspots in Patiala city. Besides, information about nearly 40 localities in the district, considered hotspots for water-borne diseases, have been shared with the authorities concerned.

Vulnerable areas include Samana, Rajpura, Nabha, Kalomajra, Ghanour and Sanour. Data from the past seven years has also been compiled to identify repeat outbreak zones.

Health teams, including doctors and field workers, began conducting door-to-door visits in Alipur Araian. Residents have been urged to seek immediate medical care at local dispensaries or hospitals if diarrhoea-like symptoms appear.

Punjab