The Times of India              03.09.2013

District admin gears up for sanitation, cleaning work in flood-hit areas

VARANASI: With the river water gradually receding in the city, authorities are now focusing on sanitation and cleaning in the affected areas. After the visit of the relief commissioner Venkateshwara Lu on Sunday there seemed to be deftness in the ongoing sanitation drive carried out by the Varanasi Municipal Corporation(VMC).

Authorities have all geared up to take up the health threats that the flood aftermath is posing for the people in the affected areas. For the efficient and effective management of the sanitation and cleaning drives across the affected areas the city has been divided into six sub zones. According to Municipal Commissioner RP Singh in every zone there will be a seven member team to carry on and monitor the sanitation exercises.

The team will include a zonal officer, two health officers of which one will be from the office of the chief medical officer, one sanitary inspectors and three sanitary supervisors. This team will work with the members of the cleaning staff.

According to the official the local body has acquired well in advance, stock of all the necessary prescriptions to be used in the sanitation drives. These includes Nuan, Malathion, Btex, Bleaching powder, Lime, Q-fog and chlorine tablets. Also every corporator is also given additional 500 chlorine tablets so that he can extend them to the people of his wards if needed.

According to the city health officer, SSP Verma, As of now the district magistrate has arranged as many as 163 additional cleaning staff from the rural areas who will be working with these teams in different areas.

" The team has started functioning in some areas. On Monday silt has been removed from the flood affected areas like Nakkhi Ghat, Dhelwaria, Saraiyan followed by the spray of Malathion.

Meanwhile the number of patients suffering from various vector borne and water borne diseases have increased significantly in different government and private hospitals. In fact the dengue ward in the Shree Shiv Prasad Gupta (SSPG) hospital was full to its capacity by Sunday itself. Also there has been an steep rise in the patients suffering from diarrhea and viral fever.