The steel city of Rourkela in Odisha is reeling under a cholera outbreak which has so far claimed 12 lives, an official said.

More than 1,000 people affected by the water-borne disease have been admitted to different hospitals in Rourkela and other parts of Sundergarh district. The state government, however, put the death toll at six.

Public health director Niranjan Mishra told The Telegraph: “So far six deaths have been reported because of cholera. Halogen tablets and ORS pouches are being sent to the affected areas. The officials are working round the clock and monitoring the situation.”

A majority of the patients are from the Rourkela municipal area, but people from Jharkhand and the periphery areas of Rourkela have also been affected.

The Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) has assured that steps are being taken to address the situation.

After Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik reviewed the situation, Odisha health and family welfare secretary Shalini Pandit and housing and urban development secretary G. Mathi Vathanan on Wednesday rushed to Rourkela to take stock of the situation. More than a dozen samples, collected from different water sources of the steel city, have confirmed the presence of vibrio cholerae.

Official sources said: “Patients have been detected with vibrio cholerae (the bacteria that causes cholera) and E Coli.”

Both vibrio cholerae and E coli (causes severe stomach cramps, bloody diarrhoea and vomiting) are caused by contaminated food and water.

Such was the severity of the situation that the Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who hails from Odisha, sought Union health minister’s personal intervention in the matter.

In a letter to the Union minister of health and family welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Pradhan said: “The severity of an outbreak of diarrhoea in Rourkela and the potential risk it poses to public health is alarming. At least eight deaths reported and over
600 individuals currently undergoing treatment. The disease is suspected to be caused by water contamination, leading to severe health complications among the affected populace.”

Drones to fight Maoists

Odisha police on Wednesday decided to deploy high-tech drones in its fight against the Maoists.

The drones would help the police in getting accurate information about the movement of the Maoists and their hideouts which would help the security forces carry out target-oriented operations.

At least 11 camps comprising Odisha police, CRPF and BSF would be set up in the state to further strengthen the fight against the Left-wing extremists. Infrastructure, building, and logistic support would further be strengthened in the Maoist-hit areas of the state.

These were some of the decisions taken at the strategy conference on Left-wing extremism, held at Police Bhawan on Wednesday. The conference also dealt with how to contain the Maoist activities during the 2024 general elections.

SUBHASHISH MOHANTY