With the civic body still grappling with the after-effects of outbreak of gastroenteritis in parts of Old Guntur, Minister for Municipal Administration P. Narayana has unveiled a series of long-term measures to bring the situation to a semblance of normalcy.
After inspecting works relating to relaying of old pipelines on Ponnur Road in Old Guntur, Mr. Narayana said that the entire drinking water pipelines extending up to 100 km were being relaid within 15 days. Tenders were floated last month and work was nearing completion, he said.
“We have launched a special drive to replace the corroded pipelines and re-lay them. All the drinking water tap connections are also being shifted into houses so that sewage does not seep into drinking water. The sewerage treatment plant at Suddapalli Donka is also being repaired,” said Mr. Narayana.
Along with new Municipal Commissioner Balaji Rao, Mr. Narayana inspected works on Monday and made several suggestions on works. Mr. Balaji Rao also visited the water filtration plant at Takkellapadu and inspected the chlorine content in water samples.
The Minister said that the sporadic outbreak of diarrhoea in Guntur was not an isolated one as GE cases are being reported in the Government General Hospital on a regular basis. In July, 254 GE cases were reported, followed by 313 cases in August, 595 cases in September, 244 cases in October, 177 cases in November and 173 cases in December. On an average about 200 cases were being reported in GGH, Guntur, he said.
‘CM reviewing situation’
Mr. Narayana said that the Chief Minister has been reviewing the situation on a daily basis and reports on the ground situation are being sent every two hours.
