One dies of suspected dengue as cases rise to 717 in Odisha’s Sundargarh

ROURKELA: The dengue outbreak in Rourkela Industrial Township (RIT) under the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) of SAIL continues to escalate, with unconfirmed reports of a 73-year-old patient from Jagda succumbing to the disease at the RSP-run Ispat General Hospital.

The total number of dengue cases in Sundargarh district has surged to 717, up from 107 in the past month. Of these, 584 cases are from Rourkela urban, which includes the RIT and Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) areas, while the remaining 133 cases are from other parts of the district.

Notably, the number of cases in Rourkela urban has jumped from around 90 to 584 within a month.

Rourkela ADM and RMC commissioner Ashutosh Kulkarni confirmed the detection of 584 dengue cases in Rourkela urban, with 90 percent originating from various sectors of the RSP. Sectors 1, 14, 15 and 16 remain the primary hotspots. Approximately 50 cases have been reported within the RMC limits, including areas like Koelnagar and Jagda, mainly as a spillover effect from the RSP sectors.

Kulkarni criticised the RSP’s containment efforts and said they have been insufficient. “The city administration has intervened on at least three occasions, deploying executive magistrates and 50 to 100 sanitation and health personnel to the RSP township to eliminate over 1,000 mosquito breeding sites,” he stated adding, the daily case positivity rate in the RIT area has plateaued due to sustained efforts, preventing even higher case numbers.