KATHMANDU: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed at the Supreme Court today seeking its intervention to immediately address the problem of diarrhoea in several hill districts of mid and far-western regions. Kamal Niol, a resident of Surkhet, filed the petition. The petitioner said that the disease affected people in various districts of Rukum, Rolpa, Dailekh, Jajarkot, among others, but the government was not serious enough to tame the same.

Stating that many people lost their lives to the diarrhoeal epidemic, the apex court order was sought to direct the government to provide health service and medicine to the suffering people and to control the deadly disease. The petitioner sought the order to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, the PM’s Office, the Cabinet, Ministry of Health and Population, Ministry of Information and Communications, Department of Health and District Public Health Offices — to provide timely service. Niol also sought that the apex court order to declare the districts as health hazardous areas as per the Transmitted Diseases Act, 1963. He also sought the stay order directing the authorities not to conceal information.