Ronan Kelly
Retired 2020
5 die of gastro, cholera too looms in village
Shubhlakshmi Shukla
Posted: Jul 21, 2010 at 0320 hrs IST
Viramgam (Ahmedabad) Policemen have been deployed to stand guard at wells in Ghoda village, some 80 kilometres away, since Monday evening in a bid to prevent an outbreak of water-borne diseases. The only source of drinking water, the two wells ? one in Harijan vas for the Dalits and the other for the upper castes ? in this hamlet of 2,500 people, stand contaminated.
The policemen were deployed after five people (two children included) died of gastroenteritis over the last week.
Water tankers from Bavla Municipality ? the nearest civic body ? have been pressed into service while state Water Minister Nitin Patel paid a visit on Monday afternoon to take stock of the situation.
Dr Ravindrasinh Vagehla, medical officer in-charge said: ?The mamlatdar ordered for the police deployment. The villagers are angry and we had to ensure that people don?t draw water from the well anymore.?
Nitin Patel and the officials put the blame for the contamination on village Sarpanch Vela Harijan and the talati. They, however, did not say why no funds for the cleanliness drive, Nirmal Gujarat Scheme or the bori bundh scheme aimed at increasing the water level in the lakes, were utilised.
On the delay in providing Narmada water to the village, Patel said: ?Many villages do not get Narmada water, but they chlorinate the bore-well and the wells. The gram panchayat should have ensured cleanliness.?
Ahmedabad District Development Officer Rahul Gupta, said: ?We are issuing suspension notice against the sarpanch and the talati as they failed to maintain hygiene.?
On his part, Harijan said the health workers should have ensured hygiene, adding that the wells were chlorinated two months ago.
Elsewhere, the Kumarkhan Primary Health Centre, which oversees the village, said that two months ago, they had asked the gram panchayat to fix the leakage.
Daya Khodav, a villager, said: ?These deaths could have have been avoided if we had water from the Narmada canal. As the water levels dipped, villagers started breaking the bore-well pipeline, damaging the drainage lines in the process.?
Harijan added: ?Not much fund was available from Nirmal Gujarat. We are demanding water from the Narmada canal for four months now, but they started work only in July.?
Viramgam Taluka Development Officer K R Patel confirmed that ?the village is not getting much funds under Nirmal Gujarat. The Gram Panchayat ensures proper drainage,? he said.
Patel promised to bring water from the Narmada canal located 15 kilometers away.
How it happened
Located some 30 kilometers from the state highway, this village is dependent on two wells, a few borewells, which are functional sometimes, and a small lake for its water needs. The borewell with an overhead tank has the entire village connected with pipeline, but is useless.
?The water is tasteless, we cannot wash our clothes or vessels,? said Jasu Rajput, a village elder.
The two wells have everyone lining up ? in summers, often the entire night ? for their daily water requirement. But this summer, the drainage pipeline started leaking within the village, contaminating the wells. ?We had issued two notices to the gram panchayat to fix up the leaks before the onset of summer, but nothing seems to have been done,? said health officials.
Casualties
The lone primary school has been converted into a health camp since Sunday after four deaths were reported. A team of 12 medical officers are at work. Till Tuesday evening, the village had two cholera positive patients, five dead of gastroenteritis and 86 positive cases.
Ahmedabad Additional Health Officer, Dr Rakesh Vaidya said eight new cases were reported on Tuesday, mostly children and senior citizens . ?They have low immunity, while the seniors are reporting complications,? said Dr Vaidya.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/5-die-of-gastro-cholera-too-looms-in-village/649671/
Shubhlakshmi Shukla
Posted: Jul 21, 2010 at 0320 hrs IST
Viramgam (Ahmedabad) Policemen have been deployed to stand guard at wells in Ghoda village, some 80 kilometres away, since Monday evening in a bid to prevent an outbreak of water-borne diseases. The only source of drinking water, the two wells ? one in Harijan vas for the Dalits and the other for the upper castes ? in this hamlet of 2,500 people, stand contaminated.
The policemen were deployed after five people (two children included) died of gastroenteritis over the last week.
Water tankers from Bavla Municipality ? the nearest civic body ? have been pressed into service while state Water Minister Nitin Patel paid a visit on Monday afternoon to take stock of the situation.
Dr Ravindrasinh Vagehla, medical officer in-charge said: ?The mamlatdar ordered for the police deployment. The villagers are angry and we had to ensure that people don?t draw water from the well anymore.?
Nitin Patel and the officials put the blame for the contamination on village Sarpanch Vela Harijan and the talati. They, however, did not say why no funds for the cleanliness drive, Nirmal Gujarat Scheme or the bori bundh scheme aimed at increasing the water level in the lakes, were utilised.
On the delay in providing Narmada water to the village, Patel said: ?Many villages do not get Narmada water, but they chlorinate the bore-well and the wells. The gram panchayat should have ensured cleanliness.?
Ahmedabad District Development Officer Rahul Gupta, said: ?We are issuing suspension notice against the sarpanch and the talati as they failed to maintain hygiene.?
On his part, Harijan said the health workers should have ensured hygiene, adding that the wells were chlorinated two months ago.
Elsewhere, the Kumarkhan Primary Health Centre, which oversees the village, said that two months ago, they had asked the gram panchayat to fix the leakage.
Daya Khodav, a villager, said: ?These deaths could have have been avoided if we had water from the Narmada canal. As the water levels dipped, villagers started breaking the bore-well pipeline, damaging the drainage lines in the process.?
Harijan added: ?Not much fund was available from Nirmal Gujarat. We are demanding water from the Narmada canal for four months now, but they started work only in July.?
Viramgam Taluka Development Officer K R Patel confirmed that ?the village is not getting much funds under Nirmal Gujarat. The Gram Panchayat ensures proper drainage,? he said.
Patel promised to bring water from the Narmada canal located 15 kilometers away.
How it happened
Located some 30 kilometers from the state highway, this village is dependent on two wells, a few borewells, which are functional sometimes, and a small lake for its water needs. The borewell with an overhead tank has the entire village connected with pipeline, but is useless.
?The water is tasteless, we cannot wash our clothes or vessels,? said Jasu Rajput, a village elder.
The two wells have everyone lining up ? in summers, often the entire night ? for their daily water requirement. But this summer, the drainage pipeline started leaking within the village, contaminating the wells. ?We had issued two notices to the gram panchayat to fix up the leaks before the onset of summer, but nothing seems to have been done,? said health officials.
Casualties
The lone primary school has been converted into a health camp since Sunday after four deaths were reported. A team of 12 medical officers are at work. Till Tuesday evening, the village had two cholera positive patients, five dead of gastroenteritis and 86 positive cases.
Ahmedabad Additional Health Officer, Dr Rakesh Vaidya said eight new cases were reported on Tuesday, mostly children and senior citizens . ?They have low immunity, while the seniors are reporting complications,? said Dr Vaidya.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/5-die-of-gastro-cholera-too-looms-in-village/649671/