Gorakhpur hit by diarrhoea outbreak, poor health facilities

Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Aug.19 (ANI): People in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur district have been suffering from a diarrhoea outbreak for some days, and are blaming the poor state of healthcare for the spread of the disease.

Anil Kumar Gupta said at least ten patients suffering from the diarrhoeal disease visit the district hospital, but the non-availability of doctors and poor medical facility has claimed many lives in the last few days.

"The main reason of the disease is that there is no cleanliness in the entire city, there is dirt all over, and Municipal Corporation is taking no steps to clean the city. If it rains a bit, the water reach out till the knees, insects have surrounded this place and disease has spread all over," said Gupta.

The Chief Medical Superintendent of the Gorakhpur District Hospital, Dr. A. K. Pandey rubbished the allegation.

He said: "In district hospital, there are proper facilities to for the treatment of diarrhoea. Doctors and medicines are available in the emergency services. When a case of diarrhoea comes, treatment takes place either in OPD or if necessary, the patient is admitted to the hospital. There had been no casualty of diarrhoea in our hospital."

Around seven people have died due to the disease in Deoria, Kushinagar and Gorakhpur.

India experiences monsoon rains from June to September, which are vital for its agriculture. But the rains frequently affect millions of people - devastating crops, destroying homes, and sparking outbreaks of diseases like diarrhoea.

According to the report of 2010, the World Bank experts said there are 450,000 deaths out of 575 million cases of diarrhoea in every year in India. (ANI)