Haldwani, Sept. 30 -- The Uttarakhand high court on Tuesday again pulled up senior officials over the outbreak of waterborne diseases in Jeolikote and surrounding areas of Nainital district and directing the administration to identify the sources of contamination and submit a detailed report before the next hearing. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay took note of submissions from the Nainital district magistrate, chief medical officer and senior officials of the Jal Sansthan and Jal Nigam. The court expressed displeasure after officials failed to give a clear explanation about the source of contamination and sought an explanation from the state government. Although the administration claimed that the situation had normalised and water samples from the sources were satisfactory, reports of the State Pollution Control Board and Health Department contradicted the claim. Water samples collected from 10 locations, including Veerbhatti, Beluakhan and Sarita Tal, failed tests at the Indian Drinking Water Laboratory, with harmful bacteria detected in the samples. The court also took on record a petition filed by residents of Khurpatal over contamination of drinking water sources and the risk of disease spreading due to a choked sewer line near Sarita Tal. The petitioner also alleged that excessive chlorine was being added to tanker-supplied water, affecting the health of residents. The high court directed the state chief secretary to personally monitor the case and file an affidavit. The Pollution Control Board was ordered to immediately collect fresh samples from the affected areas and conduct drinking water tests across Nainital district. The CMO was also directed to file a separate affidavit detailing the condition of families affected. The court fixed October 6 for the next hearing and warned that if the government failed to provide a concrete response on the primary causes behind the spread of the disease, the chief secretary could be directed to appear in person....