Vijayawada: Ministerfor Health, Medical and Family Welfare Y Satya Kumar Yadav, Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development P Narayana, Vijayawada MP Kesineni Sivanath alias Chinni, NTR district Collector Dr G Lakshmisha, VMC Commissioner HM Dhyanachandra, and Public Health Engineer-in-Chief Prabhakar on Friday visited New Rajarajeswari Peta (New RR Peta), the area affected by the recent outbreak of diarrhoea.

They inspected the medical camp set up at Care and Share Municipal High School and interacted with patients undergoing treatment. Also, they went door-to-door and enquired about the water supply and people’s health conditions. They later held a review meeting with district officials, placing special focus on preventive measures and sanitation efforts. Speaking to the media, Minister Satya Kumar Yadav said the situation in New RR Peta is currently under control. “The government is taking all possible precautions. Water samples from pipelines and borewells have been tested, and the initial reports have returned negative. However, further tests are underway,” he said. He added that the supply of fresh water through pipelines was stopped as a precaution, and mineral water cans are being distributed instead. “Door-to-door visits were conducted, and ORS packets and medicines were given to residents,” he noted.

Officials confirmed that so far, 163 diarrhoea cases have been reported. Of them, 92 patients are receiving treatment, while the rest have recovered. “No deaths have occurred due to diarrhoea. People should not believe in rumours,” Minister Satya Kumar clarified.

He also pointed out that in some cases, consumption of Panipuri, brinjal, dried fish curry, and contaminated water could have aggravated the condition. Since the locality is close to Budameru, groundwater contamination will also be examined, he said.

Minister Narayana said that he personally visited three streets where diarrhoea cases were registered and spoke to residents. He enquired about the health condition of those who had already recovered and probed details about their food and drinking water consumption before falling ill.

“Though the drinking water supply was stopped four days ago, we need to identify the exact cause behind the outbreak,” Narayana said, expressing hope that clarity would emerge once reports of the corporation and borewell water samples are received. He directed officials to take all precautions to prevent new cases. MP Kesineni Chinni appreciated the swift response of officials. “As soon as the outbreak occurred, necessary measures were taken, and medical services were provided. Ministers Satya Kumar and Narayana also came here and interacted with people. Clear instructions were given to the government machinery to address problems related to drinking water and sanitation,” he said.

Kesineni appealed to residents to remain alert but not to panic. He assured that temporary measures have already been taken to avoid inconvenience. “In the coming days, I will work with Vijayawada Central MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao to ensure permanent solutions are implemented to prevent recurrence of such incidents,” he added.