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Water-borne Diseases Hit Flood Victims
Statesman News Service
India
September 5, 2006
The people affected by the flood of 1 September, are still fighting a grim battle, facing the twin dangers of diarrhoeal diseases and snake bites in Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts.
Water-logging and scarcity of drinking water in several villages of Tirtol, Kujang, Balikuda and Naugaon areas have caused an outbreak of diarrhoea.
Though district authorities continue to deny the fact that there is lack of medical facilities in the district, unconfirmed sources informed that one person died of high fever while two were killed due to snakebites.
Safe drinking water is still scarce in majority of the 179 affected villages, admitted the health personnel, adding that: “We are trying our level best to check the outbreak of water borne diseases”. According to official sources, 17 cases of people from people from flood hit areas having contracted diarrhoeal diseases, have been reported.
There is no immediate threat of an epidemic, though things are under strict surveillance in a couple of villages. Kalakuti village near Bedari in Patkura has so far accounted for 5 cases, while, three infants from Korua in Patkura, affected with diarrhoea, were shifted to District Headquarters Hospital.
The non-government and private bodies however asserted that in majority of affected pockets diarrhoeal diseases are slowly sprouting up with old people and children becoming most vulnerable. Significantly, ruling BJD MLA from Patkura, Mr Atanu Sabyasachi drew the attention of senior bureaucrats managing the relief and rescue operation at the district administration, and charged that relief is not provided to the marooned people of about seven villages of Batira and Antei gram panchayats of his constituency.
Mr Sabyasachi also said that medical teams have not started their operation in right earnest and added that major areas are uncovered and unattended by them. He demanded that medical teams, instead of being mobile should be stationed in the centre of a cluster of villages. He predicted epidemic threat, unless things are tackled on a efficiently. Biting by venomous snakes is also on a steady rise with 13 cases registered in the district hospital alone. On the other hand, itinerant stray dogs have triggered a reign of terror biting 26 persons in flooded villages, according to official sources.
“We have seen people crying for water. The water pouches provided to them is woefully inadequate and people are forced to consume muddy flood water,” said Mr Umesh Singh, the district unit secretary of
CPI(M).
The chief district medical officer of JagatSinghpur, Mr Sukadev Sethi has said no casualty has been reported as yet. Five medical teams have been sent to Tirtol area to extend all possible help to flood-affected people, he said. There is shortage of medicines, halogen tablets and safe drinking water in the affected villages.
Manas Behera of Zillanasi village died of high fever while Prasant Nayak of the same village has been admitted to Cuttack hospital.
A doctor working at a nearby village conceded that flood-hit people, taking shelter on embankments were susceptible to malaria and it was necessary to provide mosquito nets or repellants to these people.
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