SAMBALPUR: Sugarcane juice vendors on Monday urged the district administration to allow them to operate their business in the city. The district administration has put a blanket ban on sale of sugarcane juice for a fortnight due to outbreak of jaundice. The deadly disease continues to remain a matter of concern for the administration with two fresh cases being detected in the city on the day. The total number of jaundice cases has gone up to 73. Members of Sugarcane Juice Vendors’ Association submitted a memorandum addressed to Sambalpur Collector Samarth Verma seeking permission to resume their business. Land Acquisition Officer Sitansu Tripathy received the memorandum and assured the vendors that he would take up the matter with the Collector.
The vendors claimed that sugarcane juice is not the reason behind jaundice outbreak in the city. The district administration can test sugarcane juice if there are any doubts. In fact, sugarcane juice is good for jaundice patients, they said.The vendors have been badly affected due to the ban on sale of sugarcane juice. Gajraj Singh, a sugarcane juice vendor, said they do brisk business during the summer season. “We have already procured sugarcane in bulk quantity with the advent of summer. The vendors will incur heavy loss, if they are prohibited from selling sugarcane juice,” Singh added.
As per reports, water samples which were collected from different parts of the city for test were not found to be contaminated. However, preliminary examination has revealed that people are contracting jaundice due to consumption of street food and water from roadside eateries. Taking no chances, the district administration has banned sale of sugarcane juice in the city in a bid to check the spread of jaundice.
Meanwhile, the Health department has launched a door-to-door survey to ascertain actual number of jaundice cases. The ASHA workers are conducting the survey and sensitising people as well.