Bhubaneswar April 8 : Thirty cases of Jaundice identified in Bhubaneswar city within a span of few hours. Seeing this situation, the Urban Development department convened a meeting at the secretariat here to contain the water borne disease. Government is planning to close all the contaminated tube wells in the city and do alternative provision of safe drinking water for the City dwellers’. Housing and Urban Development Minister Pushpendra Singh Deo said, ‘Ward-level welfare committees will be constituted to check possible sources of water contamination. Besides awareness vans will move around the city from tomorrow’. Officials said, a public health unit has started distributing hygiene kits along with chlorine tablets. Jharana basti, a slum in Ward 53 where chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s residence (Naveen Niwas) is located, was found to be the epicenter of the disease reporting all the 30 cases, health officials said after a field visit to the area. Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Mayor Anant Narayan Jena, who is monitoring the situation, said, “We have started supplying water in the area through tankers since morning. Besides, we have urged the residents to improve cleanliness and sanitation. The situation is under control.”
