All water samples in Patran fail test
MICROBIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES REVEALED THAT BACTERIA CONTENT IN WATER WAS HIGH, RENDERING IT UNFIT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION
: All six water samples collected from diarrhoea-hit Patran town by the health department have failed quality test.
The samples were sent to the State Public Health Laboratory in Kharar. Officials familiar with the development said microbiological analysis of the samples revealed that bacteria content in the water was extremely high, rendering it unfit for human consumption.
“All six samples of diarrhoeahit ward number 15 of Patran were found unfit for human consumption,” said a health department official.
At least 68 people were suffering from diarrhoea in ward number 15 of Patran.
Lab reports of water samples collected from another diarrhoea-hit Jhill area in Patiala city are still awaited.
According to health officials, one new case of diarrhoea has been reported from Jhill area while two cases were reported from Patran town in the past 24 hours.
District epidemiologist Dr Divjot Singh said: “Only a couple of fresh cases of diarrhoea have been reported from both the affected areas in the past 24 hours. Most of the affected persons have been discharged from hospitals after treatment. The situation is under control.”
He said clean drinking water was being supplied in the diarrhoea-hit areas of the district through tankers.
Following the back-to-back diarrhoea outbreaks in the district, the Patiala health department has decided to conduct mass water sampling in hotspot areas of the district.
On Wednesday, Patiala deputy commissioner Showkat Ahamad Parray held a meeting with officials of the Patiala municipal corporation and the district health department to take stock of the situation.
“I have asked the officials concerned to disconnect illegal water connections and seize the hydraulic ram water pumps that often becomes a major reason for diarrhoea outbreak. Besides, I have directed officials to immediately identify water pipes in high-risk areas which need immediate repair.”
Patiala MC commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal said they had identified 37 illegal water connections and action was being taken against them. Dachalwal, who visited the diarrhoea-hit area, said they had doubled the quantity of chorine in water being supplied to diarrhoea-hit areas from 1 PPM (parts per million) to 2 PPM.