Cong wants Odisha health minister’s resignation over cholera, diarrhoea outbreak

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Congress on Wednesday demanded the resignation of state Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling over the outbreak of cholera and diarrhoea in several districts, which has claimed the lives of over 15 people.

A fact-finding team of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC), led by legislator C S Raazen Ekka, had earlier visited the affected areas to study the ground situation.

Ekka asserted that cholera, the outbreak of which started in Jajpur district, has now spread to 11 districts of Odisha.

“The number of patients infected is much higher than the data provided by the state government. More than 12,000 people have been infected,” he claimed.

The Congress MLA also said that people in the affected districts were “still drinking water from ponds and other natural sources as the government has failed to provide drinking water to them”.

Santosh Singh Saluja, another state Congress leader, added: “The health minister was busy with other things when people were dying of cholera. He has no moral right to continue in this post. We demand his resignation.”