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Jaundice outbreak: Himachal High Court widens probe scope

Published

9 years ago

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jaundice, himachal pradesh, high court, health

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Thursday widened the scope of investigation into administrative negligence, if any that led to the outbreak of jaundice in the state capital.

Hearing the case, a division bench of Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan directed the special investigating team (SIT), constituted by the state, to investigate jaundice outbreak in Solan district too and submit a report.

The authorities in Solan are directed to report as to how many deaths have occurred so far in the district due to jaundice, said the bench.

It also directed the state to deposit within four weeks the amount of compensation to be disbursed to the families of those who died of the water-borne disease.

In its last hearing on February 25, the high court not only pulled up top government functionaries for their apparent lapses in dealing with the outbreak of jaundice but also awarded an interim compensation of Rs.2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.

The high court is hearing the matter as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by taking suo motu notice of media reports regarding contamination of drinking water in Shimla.

The next hearing is scheduled for March 28.

The bench asked the state as to what action has been taken against the additional chief secretary and secretary (irrigation and public health) and other officers who were responsible for supplying drinking water from September 18, 2014, onwards.

The court noted that the Ashwani Khad water treatment station, which supplies water to one-third of Shimla’s population, is highly contaminated.

Official sources told IANS that more than 1,500 cases of jaundice, including among senior government officials, have been reported in Shimla and 12 people have lost their lives to the disease.

Patients suffering from the water-borne disease were also reported from Solan town, which was located in the downstream of Ashwani Khad.

The bench directed state Pollution Control Board member-secretary Vineet Kumar to be present in the court on the next hearing.

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Corona

Covid toll in Karnataka is a worrying sign for state government

Published

3 years ago

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May 4, 2022

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Even though Karnataka recorded the lowest number of Covid deaths in April since the virus struck first in 2020, the state is recording a rise in the positivity rate (1.50 per cent). Five people died from the Covid infections in April as per the statistics released by the state health department. In March, the positivity rate stood around 0.53 per cent. In the first week of April it came down to 0.38 per cent, second week registered 0.56 per cent, third week it rose to 0.79 per cent and by end of April the Covid positivity rate touched 1.19 per cent.

on an average 500 persons used to succumb everyday in the peak of Covid infection, as per the data. Health experts said that the mutated Coronavirus is losing its fierce characteristics as vaccination, better treatment facilities and awareness among the people have contributed to the lesser number of Covid deaths.

During the 4th and 6th of April two deaths were reported in Bengaluru, one in Gadag district on April 8, two deaths were reported from Belagavi and Vijayapura on April 30. The first Covid case was reported in the state in March 2020 and three Covid deaths were recorded in the month. In the following month 21 people became victims to the deadly virus, and May 2020 recorded 22 deaths. The death toll recorded everyday after May crossed three digits. However, the third wave, which started in January 2

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