Are the hapless residents of Virabhat staying behind the South Goa district hospital under construction at Ambaji-Fatorda destined to suffer from malaria and contend with sewage odour day in and out?
These questions have come to the fore as a four-member family headed by Joe Miranda – putting up right behind the hospital under construction — fell victim to malaria a day ago. Screening of the family members by the Margao Urban Health Centre has confirmed that they are suffering from malaria, even as health officials pointed accusing fingers at the imposing district hospital as being the main cause of the malaria outbreak in the locality.
If Joe is to be believed, the Virabhat locality is not new to malaria ever since work on the district Collectorate began around half-a-decade ago. “Malaria has not spared a single family putting up in the locality since the last five years. Every year, one or the other family has fallen victim to malaria. The situation inside and outside the hospital complex is frightening. We sometimes wonder whether the residents are destined to suffer from malaria till the hospital project takes concrete shape”.
The Virabhat residents have to also contend with sewage odour round-the-clock. The entire locality is enveloped with sewage odour, thanks to the novel idea adopted by the PWD sewerage department by connecting overflowing sewage chambers to the storm water nullah.
That a school has come up in the vicinity — which will house hundreds of children — has not spurred the PWD or the powers that be to work out a permanent solution to the overflowing sewage chambers in the locality.
A visit to the locality revealed that the storm water drain surrounding the hospital complex is choked with stagnant waters. Water discharged from the makeshift rooms housing the construction workers is discharged right into the storm water drain which has accumulated right at the hospital entrance.
Water was also found accumulated in the basement of the hospital building.
Margao Urban Health Officer, Dr Sanjay Dalvi said the migrant workers working at the hospital under construction, is the cause for malaria. The situation has been further aggravated with the construction premises offering scope for mosquito breeding, he said.
“My office has warned the contractor not to take care of the roof drainage, which is prone to mosquito breeding. At the district hospital site, we have both workers hailing from endemic states such as Jharkhand and Odisha as well as breeding sites”, Dr Dalvi said.
Sadly, while the health centre is mulling action against the hospital building contractor, the hapless residents have nowhere to turn to with their repeated pleas falling on the deaf ears of the powers that be in the last half-a-decade.
