Flies in the face of a Karnal village

When village resident Bella Ram died a few weeks ago after an age-related illness, his elder son decided to shift the customary feast following the last rites to Karnal.

The problem is so bad that it is even affecting the marriage prospects of young men here.

“People avoid visiting the village during any event. The food gets spoilt. Guests were given newspapers at the last wedding to ward off the flies while they were eating,” says Sonu, a farm labourer, as he walks through the narrow cemented lanes of the village.

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In small houses, the problem is compounded as the courtyard also has a cattle shed. If the problem is bad inside houses, it is worse outside with open drains and cow dung.

Over 50 families have already moved out in the last two years to Karnal, which offers them a clean neighborhood and as they say, “a life free of flies” says village Sarpanch Rameshwar Dass who is also one of those to have shifted out. The problem has aggravated in last two years, he says.

Residents have begun to use Dichlorvos, an insecticide to spray in their house every day. Electric fly-killing machines do not serve the purpose, as power supply is limited to few hours during the day.

Health department officials have told the villagers not to use the spray, as it may be harmful to health in the long run. Some women also complain of breathlessness due to the spray and the nauseating smell in the house, but for villagers it is an easy solution at hand. “A bottle of insecticide costs Rs 600 and lasts for 20 days. Atleast, we can sleep in peace,” says Sushil, another resident.

“We have written letters to the CM, put complaints on CM window, met the MLA Harinder Kalyan but to no avail. We have no problem with poultry farms, but it’s their proximity to the village that has led to the problem,” says Jai Prakash, former sarpanch, as he showed the receipt of the complaint on CM window.

On June 17, hundreds of residents, including women and children, had marched towards the CM’s office in Karnal, demanding solution to the fly menace. The villagers laid siege of the PWD rest house in Karnal and said they would not return until the problem is solved.

One of the residents, Ratan Ram, 50, says it was the first time in the last several years that the residents of the village united to march for a cause. Some residents of nearby villages Chundipur, Subri, Sarphabad who also face the problem joined the protest.

“We were left with no other option. Even while we were protesting, some cops mocked us, “Tum sare maakhiyon se dar gaye. (You all got scared of flies).” And we told them to come and live in the village for one day,” says Ram Dass. The villagers returned only when the district administration promised to look into the problem.

As a result of the protest, a team from the health department is conducting a health survey in the village and workers have been sent to spray insecticides that has controlled the situation to some extent. “It is just a temporary solution,” rues Ram Dass.

An eight-member inspection team comprising Tehsildar, Block Development Panchkula Officer, Veterinary Surgeon, Sarpanch, Representatives of Civil Surgeon and Agricultural department, SDO Pollution Control Board and President, Poultry Farm Association was instituted to inspect the poultry farms and submit reasons on the high population of flies in the area.

“The Pollution Control Board has already sent a showcause notices to these three poultry farms around 15 days ago, after they were found flouting guidelines. But they did not submit a reply and it has been communicated to the state office,” said one of the team members.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mandeep Brar said, “We are devising a multi-directional approach to solve this. A committee has been formed by the SDM which will examine all the aspects of the problem and submit a report. Closure notices will be sent to poultry farms, if they do not adhere to the necessary guidelines.”

“Those who were rich built their home outside and left. But poor people like us have no choice, so we decided to protest to end this,” says Sonu.

Residents are even finding it difficult to look for bride for their sons. “Nobody wants to get their daughter married in this village. They look for better options ,” says Kulwant Kaur who says she found a bride for her son with much difficulty after he was rejected twice because of the fly menace in the village.