Hamirpur Residents Deprived Of Potable Water, Right To Life
The Hamirpur episode of water contamination, depriving citizens of safe, potable drinking water, is in violation of fundamental Right to Life as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and a Human Right violation, writes Manu Shrivastava
Diarrhea cases in villages in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur district have now crossed 1,200, said health department officials. The villages worst affected by the outbreak are Banh, Jandgi Gujran, Jandali Rajputan, Panyala, Pathiyalu, Niyati, Rangas Chowki Haar, Thain and Sankar in Nadaun.
Two to three people in every household have taken ill after consuming contaminated water provided by the Jal Shakti department, said Rangas panchayat head Rajeev Kumar. It is believed that the high amount of bacteria in the water is causing the illness, Kumar said. He attributed it to contamination of the pit from which the water is supplied. Villagers said the water was supplied without being filtered from an under-construction tank, causing the outbreak.
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| At Hamirpur, the Water Crisis is real and deadly. Inset: Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, also Naudan's MLA, is exasperated and has now directed the district administration and the health department to take proper care of the patients and ensure there is no shortage of medicines and other items |
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, also Naudan's MLA, has directed the district administration and the health department to take proper care of the patients and ensure no shortage of medicines and other items.
The CM has also sought a complete report from state and district-level agencies. Health department teams have reached the affected villages to provide treatment to the people under the direct supervision of chief medical officer (Hamirpur) Dr R. K. Agnihotri. Officials from the Jal Shakti department have also swung into action. The department has stopped water supply to the affected villages and sent samples for testing.
Now, bottled water is being distributed among the people after supply was stopped, said a junior engineer in the department. Deputy Commissioner Debasweta Banik said essential medicines, ORS packets, chlorine tablets and other materials were delivered to the villages through doctors, health and Asha workers.
Symptoms To Watch Out For
The common symptoms of water-borne diseases are vomiting and fever. Diarrhea is the condition when a person passes three or more loose stools in a day. Commonly abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, blood in the stool, mucus in the stool and the urgency to empty one's bowel are closely associated with diarrhea. When the diarrhea persists for a longer duration, say for more than two-three days, one should visit a doctor. In cases where the fever does not subside, one should consult a doctor.
Clinically there are three types of diarrhea: Acute watery diarrhea, which may last several hours or days and includes cholera; Acute bloody diarrhea, which is also known as dysentery; and Persistent diarrhea which lasts for more than 14 days.
Useful Information
Causes: Contaminated water remains the most common cause of diarrhea. Other causes of diarrhea are: Food allergy, Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, eating foods that are hard on the digestive system, food poisoning, laxative abuse, malabsorption of certain nutrients, and over intake of supplements.Other serious causes like cancer and gastrointestinal surgery can also lead to diarrhea.
Effects: Dehydration is a serious side-effect of diarrhea which must be treated immediately. Frequent passing of stools drains out water content and electrolyte from the body as a result of which the patient gets dehydrated and weak very soon.One should get it treated from a doctor at the earliest.
Treatment: One needs to drink sufficient water every day. In order to compensate for the water loss and the electrolyte loss from the body one should take oral rehydration salts (ORS) solution as well. The water should be boiled properly and cooled before drinking.One can take zinc supplements as well, but only after consultation with a doctor. These supplements reduce diarrhea and are associated with a 30 per cent reduction in stool volume.
When To Get Alarmed: Diarrhea gets serious and needs immediate medical attention when the person gets dehydrated, has a fever above 102 F and has blood and/or mucus in the stool. Severe abdominal pain or rectal pain also makes it necessary to go to a doctor.
* World Health Organisation (WHO) maintains diarrheal disease is the second leading cause of death in children under five years old and was responsible for the deaths of 3,70,000 children in 2019
(With inputs from Sonal Sood in Hamirpur)
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