Bhailalbhai Ralubhai (40), whose mother Valkiben was undergoing treatment at the hospital after she complained of fever recently, said those who had died in the past month were Gita, 2, Dalsinh, 65, Punabhai, 90, Bansibhai, 85, Gulbiben, 5, Muliben, about 75 and a 10-year-old, all residents of the rehabilitation site. They had complained of vomiting, fever and cough, he said.

Alarmed over the deaths, the Sardar Sarovar Punarvasan Agency (SSPA) has been compelled to initiate health survey of all the 180 resettlement sites inVadodara district.

``The death of seven persons in a short span is a serious matter and still the cause of the deaths has to be ascertained,'' SSP Rehabilitation Officer Vinod Babbar told The Indian Express on Saturday. While the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which conducted a survey on April 21, has ruled out malaria, a team of doctors from the Baroda Medical College are assessing the cause of the deaths. One of the two doctors undertaking the study said analysis should be over within two days.

Doctors at the site said, the persons, including one woman and three children, died between April 10 and 19. Nearly 100 PAFs have been shifted to this site near Rameshwarpura during the last five years from Karana in Jabuva tehsil of Madhya Pradesh.

Based on the door to door survey of the affected resettlement site, the data would be fed in the computers to check the possibility of viral disease.On Friday, Narmada Development Minister Jaynarayan Vyas had said that three aged persons had a history oftuberculosis and others died because of heat.Meanwhile, with five more persons having been referred to the SSG Hospital for minor ailments, the number of patients undergoing treatment at the hospital has risen to 25, according to Dr PS Shah, medical officer of the SSPA at the site. A resident doctor at the Hospital told The Indian Express that the patients are doing well. Dr Shah said primarily it looked that four died of suspected pulmonary tuberculosis and others because of heat stroke.Babbar further said that after the survey is through, each of Project affected person would be given a medical card. The SSPA is taking the help of the District Panchayat and doctors of the Baroda Medical College among others for the survey.

He informed that the agency was planning to set up a separate medical cell for and even set up a post of Deputy Director (Health). Based on the nature of complaints by the PAFs the SSPA, he said could appoint doctors specialising in different fields. He claimed around May camps would beorganised in the resettlement sites and those in need would be referred to the specialists.

The PAFs talking to The Indian Express said that it was only during the last few days that the doctors had been visiting them daily. ``When people died, nobody (doctors) was here,'' said Gulu S Naik, a resident.

One of the officers observed that doctors visit the resettlement sites every alternate day. Dr Shah, in-charge of Vyara, has eight sites to cover and he comes to this site on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Dr Shah admitted that the day the persons died he was not scheduled to come to the site.