400 Dengue cases in Patna, hospitals put on alert
PATNA: Just two days after water receded from many parts of Bihar following the flood situation, dengue cases seem to be on the rise in the state. After the flood, it is now dengue which is hitting the people hard in the state.
According to an NDTV report, more than 400 people are undergoing treatment at different hospitals for dengue as many parts of the state are still water-logged following heavy rain last week. Floating animal carcasses and garbage around are believed to be the main reason for spreading the disease in Patna, home to nearly 10 crore people.
Many parts of Patna are still submerged and open drains have polluted the water-logged areas. Hundreds of people on Saturday staged protests in the state capital as the state government failed to pump out the floodwaters from their areas and could not provide them relief for many days now.
Blocking Patna’s Danapur area blocked roads near Gola road T point, protesters burnt tyres and shouted slogans against the state government, saying the Patna Municipal Corporation and other government agencies have failed to pump out the floodwaters from the colonies and apartments even after the rains stopped six days ago. The protest over a dozen areas has been happening for the past three days.
According to the officials, the worst waterlogged areas of Rajendra Nagar, Kankarbagh and Kadamkuan are yet to get any respite and the accumulated water continues to be at the three to four feet level. The official death toll in Bihar after heavy rainfall that resulted in water logging in Patna and floods in the 14 districts has reached 73.
In another incident, a Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) was attacked by angry flood victims in Bhagalpur district on Saturday but was rescued by security guards later. According to the report more than 400 people are being treated for dengue in Patna, as floating animal carcasses and garbage spouted concerns of spreading disease in Bihar’s capital city, home to about 30 lakh residents.
The nightmare has been blamed on malfunctioning pumps by authorities, who now say they home to pump out most of inundated parts by this weekend.
(With inputs from IANS)
