Mohali Civil Surgeon not alarmed by rise in cases of infectious diseases; minister blames district health dept for callous approach

More than 200 persons are reportedly suffering from cholera, typhoid, jaundice, diarrhoea and other viral and water-borne diseases in Dhakola and Dhakoli villages under Ward 3 of Zirakpur.

Despite the official figure of 103 — 68 in Dhakola and 35 in Dhakoli — recorded after a survey on Saturday, Mohali Civil Surgeon Dr Avtar Singh calls the situation ‘routine’ and ‘not alarming’.

“Such viral cases are common in this season though the number this time is a bit more,” the civil surgeon said, while ruling out the need of medical camps for the sick.

Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla, however, took a serious view of what appears to be a ‘callous approach’ of the district health department and assured free treatment to all the patients. “We will act as we had done in Majri village of Mohali where over 500 persons were taken ill with water-borne diseases last month,” asserted the health minister, who claimed that the department was keeping a close tab on the situation.

Of the official figure of 103, at least 13 serious patients were found admitted at Chandigarh in PGIMER, GMCH-32, Panchkula Civil Hospital and a private hospital in Panchkula, confirmed Dera Bassi Senior Medical Officer (SMO) Dr Ram Kumar.

Residents of both the adjoining villages under the grip of the infections said they have been receiving supply of contaminated water for the past one month but the repeated complaints to the civic authority yielded no results. Besides, heaps of garbage and overflowing drains round the villages serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies.

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