Disease scare looms large as locals in Diva near Mumbai pick up the pieces

After two days of flooding, water receded in Diva by Tuesday morning. Around 3 lakh people were affected by floods and around 2 lakh residents of areas such as Agasan, Ram Nagar, Dativli and Mathardi are still without electricity.

“Betavde substation was flooded till Monday evening, affecting 13 transformers. Power will be restored after the repair work is over,” said Vishwajeet Bhosale, public relations officer, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited, Kalyan.

Residents are worried about diseases as they were in water for a long time. “Not only were our houses flooded, but also most of our belongings were floating in dirty water. After the water receded, we have been cleaning,” said Suresh Yadav, 60, resident of Jai Mata di chawl, Diva.

There are no civil hospitals or government-run clinics in Diva. Residents have to go to Thane or Dombivli for treatment.

Sukhdev Tiwari, 47, resident of Ram Nagar, said, “We have been cleaning our house of mud and muck all day today. We lost everything in the floods. My wife has fever. There is no government clinic or civil hospital here where we can go.”

The health department of Thane Municipal Corporation claimed that medical aid is been given to flood-affected areas.

An official from the department said, “We were given a list of waterlogged areas. We set up medical camps. We have surveyed 30,766 houses in the city for cases of fever and checked 4317 containers for larvae. The department has also distributed 20,286 doxycycline tablets to 3,695 people.”

He said doxycycline tablets area being distributed to ensure there are no leptospirosis cases. Those who have fever will have to undergo more tests.

“We set up four medical camps in Diva on Monday and three on Tuesday. Emergency camps will also be set up at places where there is a demand. As of now, there are no lepto cases in the city,” the official added.

Dr Veena Kawalkar, general physician, Thane, said, “Walking or staying in waterlogged areas for a long time can give rise to many diseases. Dengue, malaria and swine flu are common ailments which spread after floods. It is essential to visit a doctor and undergo basic tests.”

First Published: Aug 07, 2019 00:21 IST