The Hindu : Govt. caught napping as epidemic spreads

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 26, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Govt. caught napping as epidemic spreads

By Radhakrishnan Kuttoor

PATHANAMTHITTA June 25. It may look an irony that a `mysterious' fever, assuming the proportion of an epidemic, has claimed over 100 lives, besides infecting many others, in a `health-conscious' and highly literate State like Kerala during the past one week. The Additional Director of Health Services, P.K. Sivaraman, himself has confided that 616 persons have contracted leptospirosis (rat fever) in the State, besides 416 suspected cases of dengue fever, as on June 22.

Though the official figures of death toll in the past one week are 53, unofficial records show that not less than 115 persons have succumbed to the illness. Meanwhile, the Government has sanctioned Rs.2.3 crores for combating the epidemic.

But the crucial question is whether the existing system is enough to take up the task, especially when towns and villages have been turned into waste-dumping yards, posing serious health hazards. Many hospitals do not have any proper biomedical waste disposal facility as prescribed by the Bio-Medical Waste Management and Handling Rules, 1998 despite reports of liquid waste from hospitals reaching water bodies. And the infectious wastes being generated at various health-care institutions are mounting day by day, exposing the common man to potential health hazards.

Management of highly contaminated clinical and pathological wastes is a major problem being encountered in the drive for environment protection. Statistics show that Kerala has the highest number of doctors and medical establishments per 1,000 people in the whole country. Another unique aspect of the State's demography is that there are no huge metropolitan cities here while there are a number of small and medium towns with populations varying from 50,000 to five lakhs.

Ministry's failure: Notwithstanding the gloomy picture, the Health Minister appears least bothered about the scenario. The mounting casualty, the mystery behind the epidemic and the failure of the official machinery in diagnosing the cases amply testify to the failure of the Health Ministry in ensuring public health and hygiene. The flow of liquid waste from the District Hospital at Kozhencherry into the public road continues unchecked despite the Minister's visit to the area a week ago. The hospital waste reaches the very source of a drinking water supply scheme in River Pampa through the panchayat drainage.

A private hospital in Ranni reportedly drains out untreated liquid waste into a large pit on the banks of a small stream leading to the Pampa, disregarding the objections raised by the State Pollution Control Board (PCB) and the local people. The PCB inquiry, on the basis of a mass petition, in September last observed that the waste water is being ``discharged into the open pit without any treatment.'' Moreover, the PCB environment engineer, in a letter to the hospital authorities has maintained that ``the present location for dispersion arrangements provided is inadequate to contain the water in the land. Hence, it is inferred that the waste water is likely to contaminate the nearby water sources.''

Negligent local bodies: Local bodies are a party to the pollution of water bodies and environment by their criminal negligence in ensuring a safe and fool-proof waste disposal mechanism in their respective areas. The wastes from slums, lodges and markets in Ranni town reach the Pampa waters mainly because of the laxity on the part of the local body. The case is no different in Kozhencherry, Pandalam and Konni.

It is noteworthy that of the 10 fever casualties reported in the district in the past one week, five are from Ranni. As per Health Department records, 750 cases of acute viral fever have been reported by various peripheral health care centres in the district during the past one week. Of the 52 suspected dengue fever cases reported from the district, only six have been diagnosed as dengue fever, official sources say.

More alarmingly, the hazardous filth finally reaches the backwaters of Kuttanad along with the flood waters during the monsoon, extending the epidemic threat to the coastal areas. The Vembanad lake is connected to the five major river systems of Pampa, Achenkoil, Manimala, Muvattupuzha and Meenachil. These rivers pass through a good number of towns which do not have any proper waste disposal facility, before draining out into the lake. It is of primary importance to take fool proof waste disposal mechanism in towns and villages if the Health Ministry and the Government are sincere in their initiatives to prevent the spread of epidemics.

There are also allegations that the local bodies which are supposed to ensure a safe waste disposal facility in their jurisdiction are often found to have been violating the Act and rules for reasons best known to them. Many people are of the opinion that it is high time criminal proceedings were initiated against these political executives in the State Government as well as the local self-governments for not implementing the waste disposal rules.

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