Thursday, June 19, 2008

Outbreak of epidemic in Orissa: Tribals agonised

Merinews, 19th June, 2008

Every year thousands of villagers of KBK region die due to the outbreak of epidemics like diarrhea and cholera. Lack of facilities like proper road, health care centre, drinking water, shortage of food, sanitations, etc add woes to the situation..
By : Bibhuti Pati

EPIDEMIC DEATHS have created a phobia in the interiors of Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput (KBK) region. Many expert doctors and administration teams from foreign visit Kasipur and Dasmantpur block of KBK from time to time. Government and its officials say the situation is under control, but the reality is something else. Until date, corpses were being carried to cremation grounds and patients to hospitals. The situation has become so worse that family members refuse to carry the corpses of their own kiths and kins. Superstitions and blind belief prevails that whosoever carries a corpse shall soon become a victim himself.
According to official reports of September 9, 2007, outbreak of cholera and diarrhea and other diseases have added to the woes of the impoverished Kasipur and Dasmantpur block and other villages in KBK region, killing at least 250 people in the past few months and affecting hundreds who are being treated at different hospital and medical camps. But unofficial reports had put the death toll to over 1,000 in these areas and a large numbers of people suffered from starvation and malnutrition in these regions. At the time of filing of this report, the death toll continued to increase, although in a slow manner, but it was not checked and the condition of the villagers worsened.
Budu Muduli was in tears. Her husband was not by her side when she went into labour and gave birth to a son. “Five days have passed and my husband has not yet seen the child. My husband was shifted to the Koraput hospital and he never returned. He was not able to see the face of his new born child. Now, I have no work to look after both my children,” said Muduli, wiping her tears. Her tragedy is not the only case in the region. The recent outbreak of cholera has taken a heavy toll in tribal Orissa.
Kundi Jani of Baladaiguda village in the district ponders over her future, while sitting on the verandah of her house. “I have lost everything. I don’t have anything to feed my six-month old daughter,” said Kundi, who lost her husband Chingudu Jani and five-year-old son Siba due to diarrhea. Another woman Subamati said, “First, I lost my husband in diarrhea, and then the next day, my brother–in-law. Now my father-in-law is suffering from it and has already taken 60 bottle saline in three days.”
For such situation every body blames bad food habit, intake starvation, polluted drinking water, lack of medical and administrative services and unsanitary conditions. Deaths due to diarrhea and cholera in these areas are very common during the monsoon, sometimes it is apparent and sometimes not. Every time all the political parties, irrespective of party ideology and local sycophants and above all, the bureaucrats, technocrats and other top to bottom government officials, eagerly wait for such man-made calamity. For the development activities, every year crores of rupees are being spent in the name of new developmental projects, but in reality the money sanctioned by the Central government for the region’s development goes inside the pocket of these officials. After this, a fake development expenditure account is shown to the public by every government. More than a decade has passed, but the dark history is repeating itself. Till date, people of remote villages of KBK area live far away from the basic necessities like roads, sanitations, health service, etc. “You will be surprised to know that many villagers have not seen a by-cycle till now,” said the local member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), Taraprasad Bahinipati.
From mid 70s till today, almost during every monsoon season people die in KBK area, either because of diarrhea or of bad food and hunger or other contaminated diseases. This is a serious cause of concern for all of us.
It needs to be noted that there is a record of history of black days to these death. In 1979, 10 villagers died in Ranachuana, Kutakhal and Paikupakhal, in 1981, more than 15 people died and several people affected by diarrhea in Posapadas of Adajore village and these deaths were sources of much political debates and differences. In 1983, in Bilamal village 13 people died. The then collector and district magistrate (DM) took urgent steps and the epidemic was controlled. In 1987, the starvation deaths in Kashipur was acknowledged by the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.
In 1990, 11 people died in Badaliguduma and Mandia Guda. In 1996, more than 11 persons died in Khairiput, Kalimela and Motu area of Malkanagiri. In 1998, seven persons died in Kalabedapad, Padlamput and Khamarpoto. In 1999, nine people died in Paikupakhal of Maikanch GP. Interestingly, these villages has been adopted by Utkal Alumina International Ltd. In 2001, once again, Bilamal was touched by epidemic death, and it was a centre of debate.
Utkal Rural Development Society and the social development wing of the Utkal Alumina International Ltd donated some money to the affected people of the village. Chief minister, Naveen Patnaik had visited that village and declared many development projects for the poor villagers like roads, hospital and safe drinking water. After his visit some more people died. In 2005, more than eight people died in Maikanch area.
These are some of the recorded death cases, besides every year two to five people have been dying. In some years, the political parties and the mass media would highlight the deaths for reasons best know to them, while sometimes they just simply ignore these villages. But in all cases, one reason has been highlighted that lack of food, bad food habit and contaminated water are the real cause of such outbreak of epidemic. Meanwhile, Tehelka investigation reveled the factors responsible for these deaths.
Narendra Moharana – a social worker said, “These deaths are very common during the monsoon because the stock of food grains get exhausted. Somehow they manage with mango kernels, tamarind seeds, jack-fruit seeds, other roots and fruits of the jungle like bamboo shoots and mushroom. During this time, shortage of firewood creates a big problem as the locals cook a large quantity of food for four to five days in firewood. This food, after few days become poisonous. During the rainy season, the waters sources like ponds streams etc gets polluted, which is the major source behind such epidemic. There is severe food shortage during this season.
All these areas have not been connected with a proper road. Every family faces these same problems, so it is very difficult to bring a patient to the hospital, which is more than seven to 10 km away. Snake bites is yet another big problem in rainy days because of which villagers are reluctant to take patients to the hospitals. On the other hand, the health workers have not visited these villages because of unavailability of communication facilities like road, phone, etc. Villagers used their traditional medicines, jadi booti to cure the diseases and refuse to go to hospitals and take medicines. Such high death toll leaves many orphans every year and these innocent kids play cheerfully, unaware of what is stored for them in the future. Sadly, neither the government nor the NGOs have done anything for these poor kids.
Government spends crores of rupees every year, but KBK’s fate remains the same. Why? To answer this Panchanan Kanungo, an economist and ex-finance minister of ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party said, “The success of every economy depends upon the culture and need of the people. But every government does not have the in-depth knowledge about the culture and the need of the people of the KBK region. That is one of the reasons why every planning does not get linked to the culture and need in the process of executions.”
The local intelligentsia of KBK region said, “When sensitive issues come to the limelight through media, all the bureaucrats, ministers, opposition political party leaders and other politicians visit these areas. But the above people have never visited the real epidemic villages. Their visits are only confined to block headquarters. The opposition leaders blame the ruling party and indulge in a lot of castigating political speeches. But they should remember that the same thing was happening when they were in power.
These people are making fool of the poor people with false promises. How the water tanks will go to the affected villages without any proper road? How the patients will come to doctor or hospital without a single pie or an empty stomach and what is the guaranty that the doctors will be available? How will the political people and the government officials solve these problems with out a strong will power? How overnight can the streams become pollution free and how will the drinking water problem be solved without a single tube well?
JB Patnaik and Naveen Patnaik both have seen this type of problem several times, but nothing has changed. The local intelligentsia suggests that to develop awareness among the villagers, proper roads be laid from every village to block office and hospitals, create more forests and preserve the forest ecology and improve the traditional agricultural system. If these four things improve then the repeated cases of mass deaths each year will be definitely controlled in future. Besides, the government’s negligence should be controlled with a strong action plan.

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