As many as six people have died of diarrhoea in Puri district of Odisha following the alleged consumption of polluted Daya river water.

The state government maintained that the diarrhoea outbreak affecting villages under Kanasa block has been controlled. All six deaths have been reported from the area in a span of 20 days.

Former chief minister and Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik said the diarrhoea outbreak has reached a critical stage. “I was shocked to learn about the six deaths from diarrhoea.”

Naveen on Friday posted on X: “Though the outbreak has taken place only around 50km away from Bhubaneswar, the government seems to be callous towards it. Even though the diarrhoea has come to the notice from January 2, it’s disheartening that the government failed to take any steps to contain it.”

He maintained that the prime duty of the government is to protect the lives of the common people. “The state government should take all possible steps to protect the lives of people from diarrhoea,” said Naveen.

Director of public health, Nilakantha Mishra, said: “The situation is slowly returning to normal. The number of cases is decreasing day by day. We have sent 12 teams to the area. They are conducting house-to-house survey.”

On the reasons for the outbreak of diarrhoea, Mishra said: “It’s because of infection. The water that the people in the area are using has been contaminated. People have been asked to sterilise the water sources and not use contaminated water.”

Officials maintained that though there are piped water supply facilities, people are not using them for various reasons, which is why they consume contaminated water. More than 200 people were affected, and nearly a dozen are undergoingtreatment.

Sources said the Daya river that passes through the area gets polluted after the sewerage water of Bhubaneswar city gets mixed with it. Though the state government has assured a better water supply, the promise is yet to be carried out and untreated water is being consumed.