Cuttack, Feb. 24: Tension prevailed during a demonstration by the Congress over the jaundice outbreak and mosquito menace outside the municipal corporation headquarters here today.

A tussle was reported between the Congress activists and police personnel after the cops had tried to prevent the party workers to forcibly enter the corporation office.

Condemning the police action, the Congress alleged that the state government was resorting to such tactics to suppress the voice of the people.

The party also opposed the way youth and students had been booked under section 307 (attempt for murder) of the Indian Penal Code for the recent protest on the chief minister Naveen Patnaik's convoy in Bhubaneswar and threatened to intensify agitation against such move.

"We were staging a peaceful demonstration and the police personnel obstructed us - which is not accepted in a democracy," said Mohammad Moquim, president of the Cuttack Nagar Congress Committee.

Moquim alleged that the Cuttack Municipal Corporation had failed to wake up to the jaundice outbreak and increase in mosquito menace, mainly due to lack of poor sanitation in the city.

The Congress leaders have threatened to paralyse the functioning of the civic body if the officials do not take measures to address such issues on a priority basis.

So far, over 150 people have been affected by jaundice in several parts of the city, while safe drinking water remains a distant dream for its residents.

The situation has assumed serious proportions as fresh cases are being reported from new localities, including Bidyadharpur and Cuttack Sadar.

The overall response in tackling jaundice has not been satisfactory as the work of pipeline replacement is being carried out slowly. "The administration is completely responsible for the jaundice outbreak as no timely preventive measures were taken either by the civic body or the public health department after the outbreak in Sambalpur," said senior Congress leader Suresh Mohapatra.

Mohapatra said the increase in mosquito menace showed the authority's apathetic attitude as no mosquito larvicide oil had been procured in the past two years.

A district administration official said safe drinking water was being provided from 193 temporary water tanks installed at various places, including those localities from where jaundice cases had been reported.

Civic body commissioner Gyana Das, on the other hand, said the process of the replacement of pipelines with possible leakage source was being carried on war footing in the city.

"The corporation has already intensified cleaning operations and mosquito larvicide oil worth Rs 1 crore will be shortly procured to combat the mosquitoes in the city," said Das.