Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government Thursday said all schools and anganwadi centres in Jajpur will remain closed till June 24 and those in Bhadrak till June 21 in the wake of a diarrhoea outbreak, officials said.
The district administrations of Jajpur and Bhadrak have issued separate orders in this regard.
Schools and anganwadi centres across Odisha, except those in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, are scheduled to reopen June 20 after the summer vacation.
Earlier in the day, School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond said the collectors have been authorised to decide on the reopening of schools in three diarrhoea-affected districts – Bhadrak, Jajpur and Cuttack – keeping the prevailing situation in mind.
The state government is very concerned about the diarrhoea outbreak. We have asked officials to monitor the situation closely in the vulnerable districts before resuming school activities, Gond said.
Two more persons had died of diarrhoea in Jajpur district, taking the death toll to 13, a health department official said Wednesday.
The latest casualties were reported from the Vyasanagar area in the district.
A total of 196 patients are currently undergoing treatment at different healthcare facilities in Jajpur, he added.
Gond said the state government has taken several precautionary measures for the safety of students.
Schools lacking water purification systems have been asked to provide boiled drinking water to students, while mid-day meal cooks have been instructed to serve hot meals, he said.
Similar arrangements will be made in residential schools, the minister said.
Emphasis will be laid on cleaning school premises and water tanks before reopening post the summer break, he said.
Fast food stalls near school campuses will also remain shut as a precautionary measure.
Meanwhile, three joint teams of experts of the Centre and the state government visited Cuttack, Jajpur and Bhadrak districts Thursday, and started field-level inspection and review, officials said.
These teams are monitoring various aspects of diarrhoea control and prevention programmes in these districts, they said.
PTI
