Alarmed by the rising cases of gastro and cholera in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to check the water samples in the areas where such cases are found to be higher.
Every year, the city witnesses a spate of monsoon-related ailments. However, even as the civic health department has been claiming that it has curtailed malaria and dengue, there has been a sudden spurt in gastro and cholera cases this year. So far, 523 cases of gastro and 12 cholera patients have been admitted to civic hospitals. “The BMC has already started distribution of chlorine tabl-ets in the wards where gastro and cholera cases have been found. We have also decided to collect water samples in these wards. These samples will be sent to the laboratory for checking,” said Dr Arun Bamne, BMC executive health officer.
Consumption of adulterated food and contaminated water are the prime reasons for the spread of gastro and cholera. Civic officials also blamed the city’s age-old pipelines for cholera.