Law to empower health officials to take action against those contaminating drinking water on cards: Abitkar

Kolhapur: A law that gives more authority to health officials to take action against those responsible for the contamination of drinking water sources will soon be framed, said state health minister Prakash Abitkar in Kolhapur on Sunday. A decision in this regard will be taken in the meeting scheduled at Mantralaya on Monday, Abitkar told reporters.
Responding to a question regarding the source of infection in the Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) patients, especially in the outbreak clusters in Pune, and whether there had been any negligence in ensuring the supply of clean water to residents, Abitkar said the health authorities have no powers other than to ask people to wash hands and boil water before drinking. He said that to prevent waterborne diseases in future and to control their spread, health authorities will be empowered to take legal action against people causing contamination.
"The water contamination issue has come to the fore because of the GBS outbreak in Pune. When water is found to be contaminated, our officers can't do anything other than mix TCL powder (disinfectant) in the water. They have the responsibility, but no authority. There is no system to monitor waterborne diseases and, therefore, our health system does nothing other than ask people to wash hands and drink boiled water. On Monday, we are holding a meeting of officials of all important departments — from FDA to health education as well as legal — and the process to draft a law giving authority to health officials to take stringent action will start," said Abitkar.
Regarding GBS cases, Abitkar said the rate of increase in GBS patients is on the decline since his visit to a cluster in Pune a week ago. "We have listed the dos and don'ts. House-to-house surveys are going on. The SOP is in place. Therefore, the number of GBS patients is under control," said the health minister, who inspected a well in Nanded village on Sinhgad Road.
Abitkar stated that GBS is not a contagious disease and does not spread like Covid. "Many people were worried and thought GBS might spread like Covid. That is not the case. Though the GBS cases are on the decline, we need to take care of people with low immunity. Those with low immunity are more prone if they consume contaminated water or food," said Abitkar.