Sampad Mahapatra: In Orissa's Kalahandi what's keeping the administration busy is an outbreak of cholera. Twenty-six people have already died. Over 35 villages have been affected and medical teams are working round the clock to ensure there's no repeat of 2007 when the outbreak claimed over 100 people.
Kalahandi is one of the most backward districts in the entire country. But what's the reason behind this outbreak?
Most people there say it's lack of safe drinking water. They say they don't get safe water and proper food.
"We were drinking water from drains. It's only now that safe water has been made available," says a person.
At the moment, 21 medical teams are on round-the-clock duty trying to contain further spread of the killer bacteria.
Orissa Health Minister Prasanna Acharya says, "We had sent four swabs for lab testing, and of these three have tested positive. I don't think there's anything alarming and we are trying to prevent it from spreading to other areas in the district."
Unless that is done, it could well be a repeat of 2007 when cholera killed over a 100 people across Kalahandi and its neighbouring districts.