Munda mulls dam request to Orissa CM, heavy rain destroys medical records at government hospital

Jamshedpur, Aug. 14: A fevered East Singhbhum has switched into serious combat mode to keep a host of monsoon maladies at bay.

Already in the malignant grip of vectors spreading chikungunya and dengue, the district is pulling out all the stops to resist water-borne diseases like diarrhoea after yesterday’s flash floods affected 3,500 people in Bagbera, Shastri Nagar, Mango and Jugsalai.

 

Four teams, constituted by additional deputy commissioner Bijay Kumar Sinha, today fanned out to these low-lying areas, inundated by Subernarekha and Kharkai rivers, and sprayed larvicide and sprinkled bleaching powder.

 

“We are following directives from the state health director to the letter. Apart from routine larvicide and bleaching powder drives, we have planned a massive sensitisation campaign and distribution of pamphlets, highlighting steps to prevent water-borne diseases like diarrhoea,” civil surgeon Vibha Sharan said.

 

Dhalbhum SDO Subodh Kumar said he was monitoring distribution of ORS. “We are keeping tab for diarrhoea symptoms. Health officials have confirmed that they have enough stock of medicines to tackle an outbreak,” he said.

 

The district health department is even contemplating pamphlets in Urdu to aid Muslim-dominated areas of Kapali and Daiguttu, which were also inundated by the flash floods.

 

Jusco and the three civic bodies — Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee, Mango Notified Area Committee and Jugsalai Municipality — have been told to conduct fogging in the areas on a war footing.

 

Jusco, which looks after municipal and allied services in the steel city, has already constituted 10 flood relief teams, complete with doctors and an ambulance. “The teams are touring flood-hit localities in Kadma and Sonari,” said Rajesh Rajan, head of corporate communications, Jusco.

 

Officials of Subernarekha Multipurpose Project revealed that the water level of Subernarekha and Kharkai had receded and the sluice gates of Orissa’s Bankabal Dam had been closed late last evening.

 

At 12.30pm today, the level of Subernarekha was at 120m against the danger mark of 121.5m and that of Kharkai was 129.35m against 129m.

 

Chief minister Arjun Munda is expected to speak to his Orissa counterpart Navin Patnaik and request him to ensure that the sluice gates of Bankabal are not opened without necessary precautions.

 

Munda has already directed the disaster management and water resources departments to stay fully prepared to carry out relief work wherever necessary. “Though Jharkhand is not a flood-prone zone, constant vigil near the dams is important. I will also talk to the Orissa chief minister in a day or two,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, weathermen have issued a 24-hour rain warning, particularly in the Chotanagpur plateau region.

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