32 Die of Diarrhea; Flood Situation Still Dismal
Patna: Sept. 5, 2008
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Flood Situation Still Dismal
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Photo by Shashi Uttam |
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Even as the Army, Navy, the Air Force and other state machineries worked round-the-clock to save people in the flood-ravaged districts of Bihar, problems were only compounded on Friday when reports of 32 people dying of diarrhea and other water-borne diseases reached the state headquarters sending a chilling warning to the state officials.
In a report released on Friday, officials put the number of death caused by diarrhea, cholera, and other diseases to 32 in Supaul and Araria districts. Reports from Madhepura and Saharsa districts were also not encouraging where the number of such deaths are officially estimated at 8.
State officials in Patna said more doctors and paramedics were being sent to Madhepura, Purnia, Saharsa, Supaul, and Araria districts to handle large number of patients even as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar urged private medical practitioners to step forward and join the Red Cross and other volunteer groups in an attempt to intensify medical care to the flood victims.
Despite the government's claim of water receding in many areas, situation remained grim in Murliganj where fresh water entered into nearly a dozen villages forcing the officials to evacuate the residents using boats and helicopters.
National Highway 107 near Saharsa still remained submerged in the flood water making it extremely difficult for the flood relief workers to transport relief items to dozens of villages.
New flooding was also reported from Dhamdaha block in Purnia district and Aurai and Katara block of Muzaffarpur district.
According to a new number released by the government, more than 27.26 lakh people are said to be affected by this year's flood in the north Bihar.
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