Gastro outbreak: SC Commission meets victims' families

To listen to the grievances of 47 families who had lost their kin seven months back during an outbreak of gastroenteritis in the locality, a team of Scheduled Caste Commission today visited the affected Gandhi Camp.
Led by Vice Chairman of the Commission, Raj Kumar Verka, the team inspected the living condition of around 20,000 people residing in that locality and also listened to the several causes that led to the death of 47 persons in a month in that slum locality.
While advocate the case on behalf of residents of Gandhi Camp before the Commission, local Congress MLA, Ashwani Sekhri said that in the month of October last year, 47 persons of Gandhi camp died due to gastroenteritis, which had spread in the area after the alleged negligence of the local municipal council authorities to maintain adequate cleanliness.

Sekhri alleged that it was only due to the apathy of the civic administration, all the sewerages of the locality were chocked from past several months, which resulted in mixing of sewerage water with the potable water, which further resulted in this epidemic.
Listening to the grievances, Verka said that compensation of Rs one lakh given by the state government to the kin of the victims was too meagre.
He advocated to give a compensation of Rs five lakh to the 47 families and also favoured strong action against those officers whose alleged laxity resulted in the deaths.
Verka asked the civil administration to ensure proper sanitation in the entire locality.