Pics: Pareekshith Shet
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB)
Additional Pics by Prince Mahesh
Udupi, Jan 18: A shocking revelation made by the district health survey show that high number of dengue cases have been reported from Kodankuru ward in the city this year.
According to the survey, as many as 50 cases have been reported, out of which seven were confirmed and hospitalised at District hospital, Ajjarkad. The rest were hospitalised at a private hospital.
Said Prema, a resident of Kodankuru, "There are five people living in my family. Two of them who were afflicted with dengue are recovering slowly." In this particular colony, almost every resident has experienced minor illnesses, said sources.
There are 150 families in the thickly populated Kodankuru ward. As many as 75 families out of the 150 are scheduled caste, residing in the 3.5 cents of land given by the government.
Drainage problem
The problem of sewage is not a new one for the residents. The open gutter water flows in every direction. Even the domestic sewage from houses join it. The residents' woes increase in the rainy season when the polluted water overflows the drains. The contaminated water flows to a KRSTC depot land which is attached to the ward, say residents.
The drainage water trouble is not only in the village, but also in cities like Nittur, Kalsanka-Gundibail, Badagupete, Kalmady and many more.
Residents are under the constant threat of communicable diseases as polluted water flows in open drainages in the city. The connecting drainage is the responsibility of the city municipality, but the council has turned a blind eye to the problems faced by residents.
As many as 550 cases of dengue have been reported from January to December 2016, out of which 50 are new cases, according to DHO department officials.
The officials say that the health department has taken all required precautionary measures. According to the instructions given by National Vector Borne Disease Control Department, thousands of mosquito nets have been distributed through district in-charge minister Pramod Madhwaraj to all houses of the colony.
There is an anganwadi in Kodankuru new colony with a public well, which was contaminated by sewage water. Thus, it was left unused. There is no net on the well, which has made it a good space for mosquitoe breeding.
The infected have tested themslves at Manipal Centre for Virus Research and District Hospital Ajjarkad, Udupi. Only two infected patients underwent treatment at the government hospital.
The CMC and DHO should work together to prevent communicable diseases before they spread to other wards, say locals.