Cholera cases spike in Jamnagar, civic body blames illegal water connections

Rajkot: At least 15 cases of cholera were confirmed in Jamnagar's Dhararnagar area over the last three days, while another 15 were suspected. Of the confirmed cases, 12 patients were discharged after primary treatment, according to officials of the Jamnagar Municipal Corporation (JMC).JMC officials said three cases of waterborne cholera were first reported on Sunday, followed by several more cases on Monday and Tuesday, all of them are being treated at govt-run GG Hospital. Jamnagar municipal commissioner D N Modi told TOI that the outbreak was linked to illegal water connections in the area. "Residents took unauthorized water connections, and the pipeline was routed through a manhole. One of the lines developed a leak, which led to contamination and resulted in the cholera outbreak," Modi said.Following the detection of cases, the civic body blocked all illegal water connections in Dhararnagar and arranged water supply through tankers. "There are no critical cases at present. Some patients are still under observation and awaiting discharge," Modi added.Zubeda Alepotra, a resident of Dhararnagar-1, said her daughter fell ill after consuming contaminated water. Speaking from the GG Hospital, she said, "My daughter is suffering from diarrhea and vomiting and is undergoing treatment. We brought her here in a 108 ambulance. Around 15 to 20 people from our area were admitted with similar complaints."Meanwhile, the health department of the JMC intensified surveillance in the affected area. Around 20 teams were deployed to survey households and collect water samples. The solid waste department also launched a special cleanliness drive, and chlorination tablets were distributed to more than 2,700 households to prevent further spread of the disease. JMC claimed that the situation is under control.