ARMY LATRINES SET OFF EPIDEMIC


10000 lives threatened in Bandipora40 Hepatitis E cases reported
Mir TAriq
Bandipora, (Arin) Feb 09: Army setting up latrines on the banks of Arin Nallah here in north Kashmir has put the lives of more than 10,000 people at stake At least 40 cases of Hepatitis-E have been reported so far and officials of the health department are of the opinion that if the latrines are not dismantled, the disease may create havoc in the villages in Bandipore district.
Locals hold Army responsible for the outbreak of Hepatitis-E in the area. “We have no water supply scheme here and we use water from Arin Nallah for drinking purpose. Army has set up latrines over the banks of the nallah,” Abdul Rehman Khan of Chotti-Mohalla told Rising Kashmir on Saturday. “We’ve been drinking contaminated water that is why this deadly disease has engulfed the area. We have brought the matter into the notice of army and local administration on many occasions but till date they haven’t done anything,” Khan added. Another resident Namdhar Jan of Aloosa said that two years ago in 2006 many people in the area fell sick after drinking contaminated water from the Nallah. “This is for the second time that we are facing this grave situation,” he said. Nestled in the lap of mountains, these villages have no source of water other than Arin nallah. The huge presence of army in the area, and their direct flushing of excreta into the only natural water source, is a “threat to life, health” of people in these villages. A top official of the health department pleading anonymity said that the department wrote many letters to army authorities in 2006 urging them to remove the latrines from the banks of Arin Nalla. “Neither they (Army) dismantled the latrines nor did they respond to our letters,” the official said, adding, “We are helpless before the Army.” Another official said that this time, health department has taken up the matter with the army and will press them to remove the latrines stationed on the banks of Arin Nalla. “We are again writing them (army) to dismantle the latrines with an immediate effect, in order to prevent the further spreading of this deadly disease.” The villagers according to the officials have been asked to drink boiled water and take proper precautionary measures. “We took a timely action and sent our medical team on the spot to prevent further spreading of the disease. All the villagers have been advised to drink boiled water and take proper counseling from our team. If the army latrines are not removed from the river bank, the situation can worsen,” the official of health department added. “I have asked the Executive Engineer PHE to verify the matter and see how many latrines are stationed on the bank of river. Once the PHE report comes and if it mentions army’s role in contamination of water, I will get the latrines removed from the river bank,” said deputy commissioner Bandipora Sheikh Mushtaq. Chief Engineer Public Health Engineer (PHE) Abdul Rashid Beigh, expressed ignorance about the matter. “I am not aware about it . I will contact with the concerned officials and issue orders to make alternate arrangements. We will supply water through water canisters till further steps would be taken”.Director Health Dr Muzaffar Ahmed confirmed that the Hepatatis-E has spread in the Bandipore area and more than 40 cases have been reported till date. “This outbreak has been investigated by our visiting team of doctors, who found that villagers have fallen ill after consuming contaminated water,” he said.Asked how the water was contaminated Dr Muzaffar said that troopers of 14 Rashtriya Riffles have set up the latrines over Arin nallah. “These latrines have polluted the stream.”He said that outbreak of Hepatitis-E has engulfed ChottiMohalla, Sumlar, Brar, Malikpora-Aaloosa,