ROURKELA: Sundargarh’s dengue epicentre Rourkela reported the first vector-borne disease-related death of the district on Tuesday, October 5, 2021. The victim was identified as 63-year-old Dharanidhar Patel (63), a former employee of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP). He had tested dengue positive and died at Ispat General Hospital early in the morning.
Chief district medical and public health officer Dr SK Mishra said Patel was primarily treated for cardiac complications, diabetes and hypertension. A detailed report has been sought to verify if his death was due to dengue-related causes.
Sources said Rourkela city has emerged as the epicentre of dengue by accounting for a whopping 1,048 of the total 1,102 cases in Sundargarh (around 95 per cent) till Monday. From September 1 to October 5, the total dengue cases in Sundargarh have jumped from 486 to 1,102. Similarly, Rourkela’s caseload has also more than doubled from 457 to 1,048.
While Mishra claimed necessary measures have been put in place to contain the spread, locals alleged that the civic administration has turned a blind eye to the mosquito breeding grounds.ADM and Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) Commissioner Dibyajyoti Parida said all majority cases are from the areas under RSP and railways. Only adjoining pockets of RMC were affected and pre-emptive measures have been taken to prevent spread of the vector-borne disease to new areas.
Sources in the RMC office informed that of the total dengue positive cases in the city, 519 and 251 cases were from the territorial jurisdiction of the RSP and railways respectively. The rest 267 cases were from the RMC limits.Former president of RSP Executives’ Association Bimal Bisi alleged that the sanitation system of RSP has collapsed.
“The RSP township is shining only from the outside. The interior areas are full of wild vegetation and uncleaned open drains which are breeding grounds for mosquitoes. As many as 30 dengue cases have been reported only from the A Block of Sector-5,” he claimed.
Sources said the government quarters at Uditnagar, Civil Township and other areas have also become breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Bush cutting or application of mosquito larvicide to the decades-old septic tanks are never done while fogging operation is carried out on the roads.