No end to miseries of flood-hit people

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

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Jalandhar, July 12

Poor sanitation and defecation problems have started troubling people at villages situated in the low-lying areas in the Lohian block after their houses got inundated after a breach late on Monday night.

People are trapped on their roofs and they are forced to defecate in the open as toilets are clogged. Women living in villages said they feel embarrassed to go to other’s houses to relieve themselves. It was not even possible to step out due to the deluge. They were also in need of sanitary napkins which were not being made available to them.

Madala Channa, Chak Badala, Gatta Mundi Kasu, Dhakka Basti, Mehrajwala and Mundi Cholian are the affected villages.

Lashkar Singh from Mandala Channa village said while they could go out to relieve in the open, it was a problem for women. His wife Sunita said: “We are having a tough time these days. My children are relieving themselves on the roof itself,” she said.

Joginder Singh from the same village said: “There is no drinking water here. We have nothing to eat. We have already lost everything. We cannot even tell you in detail about the issues related to the defecation. We want the administration do something for us,” he said.

Neerka from Chakk Badala village and a government school teacher said: “I have been using toilet in the adjoining house as it is not flooded that much. Water level is rising continuously and we will not be able to reach their home for defecation. We will have to manage in the open”.

“Even toilets of some houses have collapsed. We are deprived of basic need,” she said. Villagers can be seen sitting atop their houses. They have kept their valuables under trampolines. Rajbir Kaur from Mehrajwala village said they witnessed similar situation in 2019.

Affected villages

Madala Channa, Chak Badala, Gatta Mundi Kasu, Dhakka Basti, Mehrajwala and Mundi Cholian are affected villages.