Haldwani, Sept. 17 -- Nainital district administration and Jal Sansthan have started replacing 30-year-old drinking water pipelines in Jeolikote in Nainital district after a reprimand from the state high court amid an outbreak of waterborne diseases, including jaundice, officials said on Wednesday. The high court on Tuesday pulled up officials over the outbreak. Nainital district magistrate, chief medical officer (CMO) and Jal Sansthan officials appeared before the court in person. The administration told the court that the situation had normalised, drinking water was being supplied through tankers and samples from water sources had tested normal. However, a State Pollution Control Board report contradicted these claims. Samples collected from 10 locations, including Veerbhatti, Beluwakhan, Prema Jagati School and Sariyatal, were tested at the Indian Drinking Water Lab. All the samples failed quality checks and were found to contain harmful bacteria. A health department report also showed that four of five samples had failed the tests. During the hearing, a petition by Khurpatal residents was also placed before the court, alleging that a choked sewer line near Sariyatal was contaminating drinking water sources and supply lines. The division bench of Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and justice Subhash Upadhyay noted that villagers had complained about foul-smelling water nearly a month ago but action was not taken. The high court directed the state Chief Secretary to personally monitor the matter and file an affidavit by next week. Pushkar Joshi, a resident of Ganja, said villagers were complaining to the water works department about contaminated water for a long time but their complaints were not addressed. Sumit, a Jeolikote resident, said his nephews had fallen ill and the family initially suspected an infection caused by eating outside food. However, after other family members and villagers also fell sick, they suspected contaminated water was responsible. Jal Sansthan Superintending Engineer (SE) Vishal Saxena said a 2.5-km stretch of pipeline under the Jal Jeevan Mission had remained pending. The department had prepared an estimated budget of Rs.10 lakh for the work but had been unable to take it up earlier due to lack of funds. "The required funds have now been arranged. Bhatt and Nainital MLA Sarita Arya contributed Rs.2.5 lakh each, while the remaining Rs.5 lakh has also been secured," Saxena said. He said pipes worth around Rs.6 lakh had already been received and work on laying the new pipeline had started. Two water tanks in the area were also being cleaned, he said. Meanwhile, the administration is supplying drinking water to affected areas through tankers. Saxena said water supplied through tankers was being distributed only after quality checks. Earlier reports concerning the quality of drinking water would also be independently verified, he said, adding that action would be taken if an inquiry established negligence or fudging of data. Officials said 217 patients were currently hospitalised. Two people have also died so far in the affected areas. Meanwhile, two new cases of jaundice were reported in the district on Wednesday. Chief medical officer Dr Rashmi Pant said round-the-clock medical services were arranged in Jeolikote. Mobile medical teams were screening residents, with over 50 people tested per village. Medicines and diagnostic tests were being given free of cost, she added....