BHUBANESWAR: The BJP has hit out at the State government for underplaying the cholera deaths in Kashipur block of Rayagada district and concealing the actual number of deaths. After visiting the cholera-affected panchayats of Kashipur block, BJP Chief Whip in the Assembly Mohan Majhi told a media conference here that the disease has claimed 14 lives when the district administration has put the figure at nine.
Majhi dared the State government to make the post-mortem reports of the five people public, who it claimed to have died of other diseases. Attributing the spread of the infection to consumption of contaminated water and lack of nutritious food, Majhi said the ruling BJD government has miserably failed to address the basic needs like supply of safe drinking water and nutritious food to the people of the affected area.
“What we saw in Tikiri panchayat of Kashipur block was alarming. People of the villages being supplied drinking water from a local pond through stand posts as tap water connection has not been provided to households. As the underground pipe connecting the stand posts are rusted, drain water is contaminating the pipe water,” Majhi said.
He said the residents of Kashipur are suffering from water-borne diseases for decades as the quality of the water is not tested due to non-availability of water treatment facilities. Majhi who led a four-member team to Rayagada district on July 24 for an on the spot assessment of the situation demanded compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the deceased family while Tara Prasad Bahinpati sought Rs 20 lakh assistance.
Claiming that cholera cases have been reported from Komna block in Nuapada and a few pockets of Kalahandi, Majhi urged the State government to come up with a long-term plan to tackle the situation.