Puri: With the grand Rath Jatra festival just nine days away, scheduled to commence on June 27, and in light of recent waterborne disease alerts across Odisha, the Housing & Urban Development (H&UD) Department today convened a high-level meeting in Puri to review and strengthen public health preparedness.
The meeting, chaired by Principal Secretary Housing & Urban Development, Usha Padhee, emphasized a multi-pronged strategy to ensure the health and safety of millions of devotees expected to throng the pilgrim town.
The meeting at the Special Circuit House brought together key officials including the District Collector, SP Puri, and senior representatives from WATCO, Puri Municipality, and various line departments. The primary focus remains on guaranteeing clean drinking water, safe food, and overall hygiene in Puri.
WATCO, the state’s water utility, is undertaking rigorous measures, including random testing of water samples from public and private sources, overhead tanks, tube wells, and even packaged water units. To facilitate swift, on-the-spot assessments, a mobile Lab-on-Wheel will be strategically stationed in Puri. Disinfection of all water sources is being intensified, and Jalasathis will directly collect samples from households to expand surveillance and boost public confidence in water safety.
On the food safety front, Food Safety Officers are actively inspecting restaurants, hotels, and street food vendors. Given the anticipated heavy footfall during Rath Jatra, a request will be made to the Health & Family Welfare Department to deploy additional Food Safety Officers to bolster inspections city-wide.
Public awareness campaigns are also being amplified. Puri Municipality has been directed to intensify outreach on safe drinking water and hygienic food through loudspeaker announcements and the distribution of IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) materials. Following these campaigns, enforcement teams, with police assistance, will conduct checks to curb unhygienic practices and littering, particularly in areas around the sea beach.
Addressing mosquito breeding, an agency engaged by Puri Municipality is deploying drone technology to spray repellents in densely populated and otherwise inaccessible areas. To ensure robust field-level execution of these comprehensive measures, eight Executive Officers and seven Engineers have been deployed to Puri. Furthermore, the Director (Operations) of WATCO has been stationed in Puri to directly oversee and coordinate all water supply and sewerage-related operations.
Principal Secretary Smt. Padhee reiterated the government’s steadfast commitment, stating, “Ensuring public health safety is the government’s top priority. All departments will work in close coordination to maintain high standards of sanitation and hygiene during this critical period.”
The proactive measures come amidst reports of a diarrhoea outbreak in several districts of Odisha, with local media reporting suspected cholera cases and fatalities. Authorities are keen to prevent any such incidents during the Rath Jatra, a festival that draws pilgrims from across the globe.