TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: The Health department and the owners of mechanised fishing boats operating from Cutbona fishing jetty seemed to have not learnt last year’s lesson when dengue raised its ugly head, affecting many a residents staying in the neighbourhood.
Hordes of migrant labourers have descended at the Cutbona fishing jetty, but the exercise to screen the migrant labourers for dengue or malaria is progressing at a snail’s pace. Six days into the new fishing season, and the health officials have managed to screen only 1700 migrant labourers employed on the fishing vessels.
Though a health team attached to the Balli Primary Health Centre is camping right at the fishing jetty, not all the labourers have undergone a check up till date, raising fears that even a single carrier may send the entire exercise haywire.
Cutbona fishing jetty is home to around 5000-6000 migrant labourers, mostly hailing from the malaria endemic states of Odisha and Jharkhand. Health officials maintained that the responsibility of getting the labourers screened lies with the boat owners as the health team is camping in the office of the Union.
