DW BUREAU / Kapurthala

MLA Kapurthala Rana Gurjit Singh on Sunday visited the city areas infected due to diarrhoea outbreak in Kapurthala city. He also met the families affected due to the outbreak, also visited and condoled the family who lost a four year old child to diarrhoea.

In conversation with the press and media he asked all the concerned officers to make joint efforts to curb the outbreak from spreading further to other parts of the city.

He blamed laxity and sheer negligence of the local Municipal Corporation for not taking timely steps to control the outbreak.

"The sewage system in some parts of the city is choked and during monsoons the problem gets bad to worse and has led to the outbreak of the disease. I am told that the polluted water from the sewage system is getting mixed with the drinking water system," he said.

The MLA informed that the corporation has received a sum of Rs. 14.60 crore for development under different heads but the funds remained unused. "I have asked for purchase of super suction machines for cleaning the sewage system, but the corporation has not paid a heed towards it due to which the people of the city are suffering. Had the corporation taken timely steps things would not have been this worse," he said.

Diarrhoea cases have been reported from Mehndi Chownk, Mehtabgarh, Bakarkhana Chownk and Sundarnagar areas where out of fear of the outbreak spreading to other parts the district administration has stopped water supply through underground pipes. The health department has sent the water samples for chemical testing.

"I have taken up the matter with the commissioner of the Municipal Corporation a number of times but things have not changed. The state Government should make a system to hold local bodies accountable in such matters. In my opinion a system be put in place that elected representative in the local civic governments and panchayati raj institutions should write the ACRs of the executive," Mr. Rana Gurjit Singh. He further said that the local bodies department should adopt a system of scrutinising the agendas discussed in the meetings of the local civic bodies.

According to the MLA, the matter of the choked sewage system was brought to the notice of district administration before-hand. He asked the officials of the water supply and sanitation department to check the water pipeline and sewage system and plug the holes to avoid spread of pollution in the

drinking water.


(editor@dailyworld.in)