Six die of cholera in Kerala

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Six people have died of cholera while 56 have been hospitalised with diarrhoea in the tribal hamlets of Kerala's hilly Wayanad district, a legislator said on Wednesday.

The issue was raised in the Kerala assembly by A. Pradeep Kumar, a Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) legislator.

"The state government and the health department have miserably failed to contain the spread of cholera in the three tribal hamlets in Wayanad. The customary sanitation work that is done ahead of the monsoon season has not been done," said Kumar.

"So far, six people have died and 56 people are admitted in various hospitals," he added.

Intervening in the debate, state Health Minister Adoor Prakash said: "We have started supplying clean drinking water to these hamlets. And where vehicles cannot reach, we are supplying water in bottles. A medical team has already started conducting check-ups," said Prakash.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that everything that needs to be done for the welfare of people will be done.

"Out of the 83 houses in the affected hamlets, only 31 homes have latrines. During the rainy season, the wells get contaminated. We have issued orders to the district authorities to see that latrines are built in all the homes and for that we have sanctioned Rs.15,000 each," said Chandy.

Health authorities say the tribals are affected with sickle cell anaemia and are prone to fall sick.

Leader of Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan also criticised the district authorities for not attending a meeting to discuss this issue last week.