BHUBANESWAR: More trouble awaits the state government as the drinking water testing report of Mandipanka village under Daringibadi block of Kandhamal district, where two women died and six other were critical after consuming mango kernel gruel, was found to have fecal contamination.
The report has come at a time when the government is under fire for delay in supply of public distribution system (PDS) rice by nearly a month for the October-December quarter.
Water samples were collected from two sources of the village on November 1, the day the two women died, and tested in the district public health laboratory (DPHL) by the district headquarter hospital, Phulbani the next day.
The samples collected from Budagudi tank was found negative to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) test but water samples from Malamaha water supply project was found H2S positive. The H2S test is conducted to assess fecal contamination in drinking water. The water analysis report jointly signed by DPHL laboratory technician, microbiologist and district public health officer said fecal contamination was found from samples collected from Malamaha water supply source and the water needed treatment before consumption.
However, the report was silent which of the two sources was used by the eight women who were taken ill.
In the action taken report submitted to the commissioner of food safety, the district public health officer (DPHO) said, “Multiple factors could be the reason of the mishap but the exact reason can only be stated after having all the relevant reports. However, assuming food and water to be one of the reasons, samples were taken for analysis.”
Meanwhile, even as revenue divisional commissioner (south) Roopa Roshan Sahoo started investigation into the incident on Wednesday with a visit to Mandipanka village, the state government set the terms of reference for the administrative probe through a notification.
The RDC has been directed to probe into the causes of the tragedy, persons responsible for the same, lapses, if any, on the part of any official and recommend action deemed necessary to prevent such incident in the future. She has been asked to submit her report within 30 days.
The state government has been at the receiving end of opposition barbs for dislocation of PDS which was further compounded by technical snag which delayed rice supply to beneficiaries well into the fourth week of October.
