Orissa cholera death toll climbs to 169
The death toll from an outbreak of cholera in eastern India rose to 169 with thousands of people being treated for the disease, officials said yesterday.
Government administrators in four affected districts -- 500 kilometres (310 miles) southwest of impoverished Orissa state's capital Bhubaneswar -- supplied the toll, disputed by opposition parties and aid workers.
The health control room in Bhubaneswar set up to monitor the outbreak of the disease said more than 5,000 people were being treated for cholera and dysentery, according to a government spokesman.
But representatives of ActionAid in Orissa challenged the figures put out by the government, saying the death toll was closer to 250, while state opposition parties put it at almost 500.
Comments