Stories
Uttarakhand High Court Directs State to Formulate SOP to Prevent Waterborne Diseases
- •The Uttarakhand High Court heard a PIL regarding a waterborne disease outbreak caused by contaminated drinking water in Nainital district villages.
- •The division bench directed the state government to frame a fresh Standard Operating Procedure and ensure its strict implementation across the state.
- •The court noted that villagers fell ill in areas like Jyolikot and Beluwakhan due to negligence by authorities in cleaning water tanks regularly.
- •Over the past three months, cases of diarrhoea and jaundice resulted in two deaths and numerous hospitalisations, prompting a PIL by advocate Ravi Bisht.
Key Questions Answered
The division bench ordered a fresh Standard Operating Procedure following a PIL concerning waterborne disease outbreaks like diarrhoea and jaundice across several Nainital villages. These illnesses resulted from contaminated drinking water due to authority negligence, causing two deaths and hospitalising many villagers.
Villages including Jyolikot, Ganja, Veerbhatti, Chhina, Beluwakhan, and Sariyatal were affected. Key officials including the District Magistrate of Nainital, Chief Medical Officer, Jal Sansthan General Manager, and Peyjal Nigam Chief Engineer appeared personally before the court.
Filed by Beluwakhan resident and advocate Ravi Bisht, the PIL seeks free medical treatment for affected individuals and a regular supply of clean, safe drinking water to residents in the impacted areas.