Hamirpur (HP), Feb 1 (PTI) Expressing displeasure over the outbreak of diarrhoea in several villages of Nadaun subdivision in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur district, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri on Wednesday said the government would strongly deal with those who failed to control the disease's spread.

Agnihotri visited the diarrhoea-affected villages and water supply sites. He also held talks with local residents and assured them that they would be provided with clean water.

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Diarrhoea cases in villages of Nadaun, the assembly constituency of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, are on the decline, Deputy Commissioner Debasweta Banik said.

There has been a significant reduction in the number of cases in various villages of the subdivision's Jol Sappar area and the situation is under control, she said.

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Health department teams continue to screen patients in the villages. The total number of cases detected during the screening in 57 villages has reached about 1,000. Of these, only two people are undergoing treatment in a hospital, Banik added.

Water to the affected villages is supplied from nearby khads under various schemes of the Jal Shakti department.

Earlier in the day, Agnihotri said a treatment plant would be set up for three drinking water schemes in Jol Sappar. Rs 1 crore is being released with immediate effect for the project and instructions have been issued for officials to release the tender in a week.

Agnihotri, who met officials of the Mining and the Jal Shakti departments, said FIRs would be registered for mining around drinking water schemes.

Illegal mining around drinking water schemes will be checked and Jal Shakti department officials have been instructed to register FIRs in such cases. Action will also be taken against officials who do not register FIRs.

The deputy chief minister said Jol Sappar's drinking water schemes had also been affected by mining.

The state government is committed to providing clean drinking water to every household and comprehensive steps are being taken in this direction, the deputy chief minister said.

"The Jal Shakti department is going to take very strict steps in the diarrhoea outbreak outbreak in Jol Sappar," Agnihotri added.

Agnihotri said a task force would be formed to check the sources of all drinking water schemes.

He added that a target had been set to complete an irrigation scheme for Nadaun, estimated to cost Rs 156 crore, by March 31.

For Barsar assembly, tenders will be refloated to find a permanent solution to the drinking water problem. An estimated Rs 131 crore will be spent on the project through which water will be lifted from the Sutlej instead of the Beas river, Agnihoti said.

Rs 71 crore has been allocated for drinking water schemes in Hamirpur Under the Jal Jeevan Mission. About half this amount has been spent and the remaining works will be completed expeditiously, the deputy chief minister said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)