Hepatitis cases on the rise

Despite the routine collection of water samples, distribution of chlorine tablets and submission of reports to ward offices, water continues to be contaminated and people — particularly, residents of the eastern parts of the city, including Kishanwadi, Yakutpura, Ajwa-Waghodia Road and Navidharti Ranawas — continue to suffer from viral hepatitis.

According to sources in the ID Hospital, at no time this year or last year has the number of patients admitted been so many. If 270 patients have been treated in November, the figure of those treated between April and November 1998 is 1,623, of whom 875 were from Vadodara. This figure, of course, does not include those who opted to go to private hospitals.

The culprits are not far to seek: the leaking, rusted water and drainage pipelines, the encroachments over service lines (particularly in Kishanwadi) and the unseasonal rains that lashed the city right up to Diwali.

While leaks are not apparent in Navidharti, Wadi, Yakutpura and other areas, in Kishanwadi, the sewage flows on the streets and often mixes with potable water.

Suresh Rana, 31, of Navidharti, from where the maximum viral hepatitis have been reported in the recent past, is currently undergoing treatment at the ID Hospital. “I’m not aware how I picked up the infection”, he told Express Newsline. “But just six months ago, I suffered from cholera.” The only other thing he had to add was that the VMC often dug up the locality.

A resident of Ramfalia, Kishanwadi, Shakuben Machhi said that someone or the other has been constantly suffering from some waterborne disease or the other over the past six months. Agreed, socialworker Kankuben Machhi, who said their repeated complaints to the VMC had yielded no response.

In Wadi Nani and Motivorwad, Congress councillor Aziz Dangiwala has often complained about water contamination. But civic works are carried out piece-meal at best, providing only temporary solutions.

That the phenomenon is not localised is indicated by former Deputy Mayor Shailesh Mehta’s threat to launch an agitation if overflowing drainage lines and leaking pipelines were not repaired on Ajwa-Waghodia Road and Kishanwadi. Admitting that the lines in certain areas needed to be changed, Additional City Engineer B S Trapasia said that the unseasonal rains had aggravated the disease scene this year.

While the civic body is awaiting the submission of the drainage master plan, Trapasia says the VMC has proposed a Kishanwadi-specific proposal for three new drainage lines from the Entertainment Tax grant before the State Government.

According to sources, the new lines would help solve the problem to a large extent as encroachments impeded the cleaning of the existing service lines.

Deputy Municipal Commissioner (General) I B Peerzada told Express Newsline, “Though the drainage lines in many areas were old, they can be changed only after AIC Watson, a Mumbai-based company, submits it’s report.” He, however, claimed that the viral hepatitis cases were not concentrated in one place.

According to VMC in-charge Health Officer Dr Dhurandhar Pathak, people’s living habits also played an important role in health. “The VMC superchlorinates the areas from where such cases are reported”, he added.

Deputy engineer of ward number 8 I D Patel, however, admitted that the chances of the service lines being damaged by the frequent work on the roads could not be ruled out.

A few months ago, Express Newsline had published a report on the lack of co-ordination among various government departments in carrying out civic works, as a result of which roads had to be dug up often.