DIBRUGARH, June 7 � About 72 people, including women and children, are feared to have been affected by diarrhoea in the Rukong Tea Estate near the industrial town of Namrup in the district. Twenty-five affected people have been brought to the Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) here, while about 33 were rushed to the Naharani First Referral Unit near Naharkatia following headache, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea among the members of the tea garden working community in the tea estate, Dr Abani Kumar Hazarika, Joint Director of Health Services, Dibrugarh, told The Assam Tribune. However, everything is stable so far, he added.
Medical teams from Namrup, Naharkatia, Naharani and the AMCH have rushed to the tea estate to assess the health scenario. Leaders from the Naharkatia branch of the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha are also camping in the garden to help the patients.
The Joint Director said that the cause of diarrhoea has not been established as yet. �We have collected vomit and stool samples for examination. So far, everything is under control and there is no cause for panic,� he added.
The Rukong Tea Estate is a division of the Joypore Tea Estate with about 150 regular workers and about 100 casual workers. Sanitary latrines, the ground surrounding the tubewells and hygiene in the housing lanes in the tea estate are reportedly in a pathetic state.
