Drink Boiled/Chlorinated water and take fresh cooked food as a prevention to Diarrhoea and Cholera in rainy days, Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh appeals to the people

S A S Nagar : Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh appealed to the people to drink boiled/chlorinated/bottled water and take fresh cooked food especially in flood affected areas to prevent Diarrhea and Cholera diseases. The Health Minister was here to review the situation of Diarrhea with District Administration , health officials and other stakeholder departments at District Adminstrative Complex, Mohali, Today.
He said because the rainy season is conducive to waterborne and vector borne diseases, so, we should remain careful by taking preventive measures and advisories issued by the department of Health and Family Welfare from time to time.
He said that the number of patients in the affected areas of District, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, where the cases of Diarrhea and Cholera have been reported, is continuously decreasing after the relentless efforts of the health department and district administration. He said that besides medical camps for screening, IEC activities are also in progress to make the people aware of the precautions to protect themselves from the Diarrhoea and Cholera.
A total of 2.5 lakh Chlorine tablets would be distributed in the affected areas by this evening so that the people could drink safe water .He said that to prevent Diarrhea and Cholera, the flood affected areas of the entire district should be screened in priority through medical teams and IMA should also be roped in.
He also emphasized that wherever there is a case of Diarrhea and Cholera, there should be immediate arrangements for alternative drinking water, people should be asked to intake boiled water after cooling it or water treated with Chlorine besides taken freshly cooked food. Apart from this, complete testing of water should be done and the supply line should be checked that there is no mixing of contaminated water in it.
He said that Rapid Response Teams should be employed on a rotation basis and students of medical and nursing institutions should also be included in the survey and awareness campaign. Currently, 39 Rapid Response Teams are working in the district.
Dr Balbir Singh while discussing flooding of the district with water, said that concrete steps should be taken by properly assessing the current situation, with which future situations like floods and diseases can be avoided.
He further said whenever a patient comes to the hospital, he/she should be fully taken care of and any kind of negligence in this regard will not be tolerated. The health minister said that the water supply lines in the areas where cases of diarrhea and cholera have been reported should be checked from one end to the other and it should be ensured that there is no contamination of drinking water anywhere.
People should also be made aware through house to house surveys that they should boil water and eat fresh food. This will help a lot in preventing various diseases. Apart from this, he instructed the officials to take necessary steps including fogging to prevent diseases spread by mosquitoes and also to educate people about prevention of these diseases.
The Chairman of the District Planning Board Mrs. Prabhjot Kaur requested the Health Minister to pay special attention to the slums, upon which, the Health Minister instructed the officials to immediately drain the standing water and take other preventive measures.
Deputy Commissioner Aashika Jain said that all the hospitals in the district are functioning to prevent an outbreak and about four thousand people reached the 22 relief centers established during the floods. So far, 186 medical camps have been conducted in the flood-affected areas. She said that 15 cases of cholera have been reported in the district.
She further said that 39 Rapid Response Teams are functioning in the district. Alternative chlorinated water supply continues in the affected areas and people’s problems are being addressed on a priority basis. She said that in addition to giving Rs 5 lakh from the State Disaster Relief Fund to the health department to purchase the necessary supply stock like Chlorine tablets, Zinc tablets and ORS pouches, bottled water is also being provided. She assured that the compliance of the instructions issued by the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab will be ensured.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Paramdeep Singh, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Amit Bamby, Commissioner Municipal Corporation Mrs. Navjot Kaur, Civil Surgeon Dr Mahesh Kumar Ahuja along with officials from various departments were also present.