Citizens’ nightmare-VII
Living near cow dung, slush, garbage
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Dec 17 — Residents of a section of Burail village facing Sector 44 are living in one of the worst sanitary conditions. Not only the villagers but residents of Sectors 45 and 44, located across the road, are also facing a nightmare.

A kutcha road leading up to the village from the road dividing Sectors 44 and 45 is surrounded by heaps of cow dung and garbage on both sides. A huge pit located just outside the village boundary is filled with dirty stagnant water where animals frolic. This emits a foul stench and is a potential health hazard. All this adds to the unending list of nightmares for the citizens of the southern sectors.

Just a stone's throw away in Sector 45, the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has constructed a row of HIG flats that are facing all this muck. Across the road in Sector 44 exists as school where children come to study. Those waiting at the bus stop on the road dividing Sectors 44 and 45 have to cover their nose to avoid the stench.

A former member of the panchayat, Mr Vijay Singh Rana, said the cow dung cannot be removed from the site. About 100 families in the village are dependent upon diary farming and have no other source of income. The problem can be tackled only if these people are given alternative sites or the Chandigarh Administration sets up a gobar gas plant.

During the rainy season, life for the villagers is worse as the kutcha road joins the main ring road of the village that is flooded. The road turns into rivulet. The problem has aggravated since the Telecom Department laid underground ducts but the contractor did not re-fill the excavated earth, pointed out a shop owner in the area.

The area is also flood prone as the rain water from Sectors 20, 33 and 34 flows down a natural gradient towards this side. Meanwhile, inside the village, the sewer system is so faulty that water collects and stagnates at one point, leading to various diseases. The open sewer lines that run between rows of houses are clogged with polythene bags and old tyres. Children sit on the walls of the sewer and play, thus exposing themselves to various germs.

Panchkula to have TB control centre soon
By Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Dec 17 — The number of reported cases of tuberculosis has increased by 25 per cent this year in comparison to last year. A total of 524 patients are presently undergoing treatment in various hospitals of the district.

The Health Department says that the spread of the disease is gaining momentum largely due to the non-availability of drugs in hospitals, the large number of dropouts from amongst patients undergoing treatment, and the congestion in colonies which has further led to unhygienic conditions at these places.

The number of cases reported at the government dispensary in Sector 11 has gone up from 37 to 84, which is nearly a three-fold increase, while the total number of cases has gone up from 139 in 1998 to 225 till date. Also, cases reported from Kalka have increased from 87 to 105 this year.

The control of TB being a Centrally-sponsored scheme, 50 per cent of the cost of medicines is met by the Central Government, while the rest is borne by the state government. While the dispensary is stocked with three of the four medicines, the fourth one, priced at over Rs 3 a capsule, is usually not available.

''The patients come from all over the district for the medicines. If the most expensive one is not available, these patients prefer to buy their medicines from a shop in the vicinity and consult a local doctor instead,'' the Chief Medical Officer, Dr H.C. Nagpal, says.

''A four-drug regime is followed for the treatment and the patients begin to feel better within a fortnight. At one time the medicine for 15 days to one month is given to the patient, depending on the distance from the hospital. Hence, if this is not available, the patient has no incentive to visit the hospital, and he prefers to discontinue treatment, which is the reason behind the ever-increasing dropout rate. This year the number of dropouts was 68 till October. Also, paucity of funds with most of them does not permit self-funding for the medicines, which cost nearly Rs 15 a day,'' he adds.

Complete recovery takes about nine months, which comprises two months of intensive treatment followed up by seven months of regular examination and dosage, while care has to be taken that the body does not develop resistance to the drugs being administered to the patients.

Another disturbing fact that has come to light is the increasing number of cases being reported from the urban areas of the district. "Earlier the disease was primarily confined to the congested slums and colonies around the urban areas. However, this year quite a few cases have been reported from the town also, while some of them go unreported owing to the stigma attached to a patient suffering from TB," Dr Nagpal contends.

The department attributes this rise in cases being reported from the urban localities to the excessive use of steroids for cough, cold and allergies. The steroids damage the immune system, and the individual becomes more vulnerable to contracting TB. Also, the role played by maids visiting the houses in the spread of the disease cannot be ruled out. "Any cough lasting 10 days should be reason enough for a patient to consult a doctor and get his blood and sputum tested. It is TB in 99 per cent of the cases," he says.

Though there are no precautions against contracting the disease, individuals can reduce the risk by staying away from congested areas and maintaining hygiene in the surrounding areas. "Early detection, completing the full course of the medicine and visiting the doctor regularly is the only way out of the disease," he adds.

As of now there is no TB control centre in the district, and no TB control officer on hand to concentrate on the action plan of controlling the disease and ensuring the required medicines are available to the patients. The centre at Ambala is handling the patients for the time being. "Once we have a centre for the same we can have a 'Kodak camera' installed for examining the patients. This helps mass screening of patients at minimal cost," the CMO explains.

The Chief Medical Officer, Dr H.C. Nagpal, informs that the opening of a TB control centre at Panchkula is on the anvil, and the proposal for the same has already been forwarded to the authorities concerned. "The district, being new, a centre could not be opened up earlier, and hospitals in different blocks were catering to the patients. Also, paucity of space was a deterrent. Now we have given them the option of choosing between the dispensary at Sector 11 and Sector 12. It is only a matter of time before the plan is finalised and action is initiated in this direction," he adds.