NEW DELHI: With garbage piling up and few toilets available near Singhu border, doctors conducting health camps at the protest site say that skin allergies and gastrointestinal disorders, including diarrhoea, have become common among farmers because of the unhygienic conditions.
Doctors told TOI that cases of cough and cold were being reported due to seasonal flu, but the patients hadn’t shown any Covid-19 symptoms so far.
Piles of garbage lying on both sides of the road are a common sight at Singhu border. The protesting farmers along with volunteers clean the area in the morning and at night, but disposables items keep getting piled up as a large number of langars are organised throughout the day.
The farmers said they had enough water bottles, but lack of toilets was a major issue. Though fuel stations, local residents and shopkeepers have opened their toilets for the protesters, they are few in number considering the huge crowd.
Dr Davinder Kaur, who is associated with an NGO and has been camping at Singhu border for the past six days, said, “Nearly 500 patients are visiting the health camp daily. Skin allergies, including itching and fungal infection, are common due to unhygienic conditions and mass gathering. Vomiting, constipation, diarrhoea and hyperacidity are other common ailments among the farmers.”
“We sweep the area and gather all waste at one place. However, the vehicles of Kundli municipality are not picking up the garbage regularly,” said Dharminder Singh, a farmer from Punjab’s Rupnagar district.
Dr Harmanpreet Singh from Patiala said, “Due to lack of hygiene, skin allergies and fungal infections are spreading because scores of farmers have gathered at one place. Besides, change of place, food and weather have also affected their health. Many people have developed body ache as they are sleeping in uncomfortable positions in cramped quarters. We didn’t find any person complaining of loss of smell, which is one of the symptoms of Covid.”
Dr Jitendra Sharma from Punjab’s Zirakpur, who organised a camp for the third time on Sunday, said, “We do not conduct random checks, but treat patients who visit our camp. Many patients of hypertension and diabetes also came to us as their medicines got over.”
“After I felt itching and found rashes on my leg, I consulted a doctor at one of the camps. I felt better in a few hours. Later, I went to the doctor to thank him,” said Surinder Singh, who had developed a fungal infection in his right leg.