Raids at eateries to curb diarrhoea

Bhubaneswar: Raids were conducted on Tuesday at several restaurants in Bhubaneswar, Jajpur and Cuttack to assess the standard of hygiene amid the diarrhoea outbreak in parts of the State, officials said. Diarrhoea was first detected in Jajpur on June 9. Over 200 patients are still under treatment in different healthcare facilities in the district.

A team, led by Darpan’s tehsildar Manas Tripathy, conducted raids at eateries, sweet shops and hotels in Barchana town in Jajpur. “We are checking the hygiene and quality of food served in eateries. If stale food was found, we issued a warning to the owner. If they continue to serve unhygienic or stale food, we will seal their shop,” he said.

The local administration in Bari, Dharmasala, Vyasanagar and Binjharpur blocks has already shut down hotels, eateries, fast-food stalls, meat shops and water packaging units for a temporary period. Municipal authorities in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar have also started conducting raids after diarrhoea cases were detected in some pockets of the twin cities. Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation teams conducted raids at eateries in Kalinga Vihar and Delta Square areas. They collected food samples for testing and also fined some restaurant owners for not maintaining the quality, an official said.

The Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) sealed two hotels in Station Bazar after finding low-quality water and food served there, he said. Capital Hospital’s Director, Rupabhanu Mishra, said a separate ward has been set up to treat diarrhoea patients.

Meanhile, Odisha Housing and Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra said the State government is fully alert and taking all precautionary arrangements to avoid spread of diarrhoea during the Rath Yatra, which is scheduled to commence from June 27. While speaking to mediapersons, Mahapatra said the Urban Development department is fully alert in view of the rising cases of diarrhoea in the State.

“Particular attention is being given to the town areas where Rath Yatra celebrations will take place. The department is on high alert to avoid any outbreak during the festival. Intensive surveillance and monitoring are being carried out to ensure that the public remains safe, and the festival is conducted smoothly,” said Mahapatra.

“Although no concrete evidence of contaminated water has been found so far, we are taking every precaution to avoid any health crisis,” added Mahapatra.