The death of a four year girl and 40-odd people falling ill due to an outburst of diarrhea in Tikiapara off Garden Reach in Kolkata has shaken and saddened the entire state.

It is believed that diarrhea have spread from contamination water due to the ongoing sewer line laying work in the locality.

Speaking with the media persons on this issue, Subodh Dey, Member, Mayor-in-Council (Health) of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) said that nearly 20 people, most of them believed to be from the slum areas have been admitted to hospital and the rest of those afflicted were being treated in private hospitals.

He admitted that the bacteria of the diarrhea were found in the drinking water supplied here by KMC&aposs Water Supply department.

Meanwhile, the furious residents of the worst-affected areas of the city wards blocked the roads in Garden Reach to protest against the disease outbreak.

They alleged that incidents of diarrhea could have been stopped if the local administration has taken the proper steps to curb it. According to them the pumping station in the Garden Reach area has been lying defunct for the past eight years now.

However, it seems that the KMC is still pondering over a solution for the perennial water crisis in the area.

KMC has so far failed to spot the leakage in the water supply system and the cause of the contamination.

To a surprise for many, the entire city gets water from the Garden Reach Waterworks, but the local residents are deprived of potable drinking water.

When City Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya was asked this question, he said, “There seems to be some technical problem in the distribution line for which the area does not receive adequate supply of drinking water. We will look into the matter soon.”