Jamshedpur : Even as water receded from low lying areas of the city a jittery district administration, already battling viral menace, is not prepared to take chances against an imminent diarrhoea outbreak.
With Steel City�s weather at its unpredictable best, there has been a rise in cases of water-borne diseases in the city.
Hospitals in the city are reporting an increased incidence of gastroenteritis (GE) and cases with symptoms of cholera. Water contamination, especially in low-lying areas that were inundated in the recent rain, is said to be the reason. If the reports from the various nursing homes and doctors of the city are to be believed then every day 15-20 cases of dysentery or nausea are being reported.
Majority of the food poisoning cases are witnessed after consuming food and liquids in marriages, get-togethers, parties, picnics and consuming street food and juices, which are easily available at many places in the city.
Sources in nursing homes informed since past one week the cases with symptoms of dysentery, nausea and severe abdominal cramps have increased.
�Apart from routine drive of spraying larvicidal and bleaching powder in places affected by viral outbreaks and submerged by water we have planned a massive sensitisation campaign on public amplifier and distribution of pamphlets about preventive steps against vector and also against hygienic steps like drinking boiled water, avoiding open foods, eating only after washing hands in the affected areas to prevent spread of diarrhea,� said an official.
The local urban bodies namely Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC), Mango Notified Area Committee (MNAC), Jugsalai municipality and corporate sector Jusco providing civic amenities in Tata Steel command areas have been asked to initiate fogging in the areas on war footing.
Meanwhile, with torrential rains coming to an end and gates of both Bankabal Dam and Sulaipat Dam � both in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha � being closed since morning and with only three gates of Chandil Dam in Seraikela-Kharsawan district opened till evening the water level of Kharkai and Subernarekha started receding below danger marks.
According to sources in flood control cell of Subernarekha Multipurpose Project at 6 pm, Kharkai was flowing at a height of 121.92 m in Adityapur, below its danger mark of 129 m. Subernarekha, on the other hand, was touching 121.42 m at Mango as against its permissible limit of 121.5 m.
Despite river water level ebbing, several low-lying areas in Bagbera, Jugsalai and Shastrinagar continued to be inundated till the filing of this report.
