Death a daily pattern
By A Staff Reporter, At the hurriedly constructed, ramshackle tents for Bangladesh evacuees at Gauripur close to the Dum Dum airport, death has its dominion. Forty thousand evacuees have made their temporary homes in the area, braving the merciless wind and rain of the season since May 29; of them 27 persons have died so far. Every day the death toll ranges between 2 and 4. And the deaths are more than usually pathetic, unmourned, unsung. Bodies can be identified, perhaps with a certain amount of difficulty; nobody comes forward to claim them however. But for the enthusiasm and willing cooperation of the local boys, the observance of their funeral rites would have been a nightmare for the people in charge. And it is futile to go digging for the life-story of those dead and gone. A shroud of obscurity hangs over the dismal scene.
The march of death on Tuesday followed the usual pattern — perhaps markedly so. Three people died; only one was identified, Mathur Mistri (62) who succumbed to an actual coronary attack in the small hours. The other two victims- one 14 year old and the other 8- died of cholera; nothing is known about them. The age factor is typical. As Mr. Manoranjan Ray Choudhury, the BDO who is administering the camp said, it was the old and the very young who were finding it difficult to survive the trying conditions.
The first thing that strikes the observer at the camp is an atmosphere of chaos hardly relieved by sincerity of purpose. The BDO and his staff are wide-awake and alive to their responsibilities but it appears that the problems are more than they can cope with. There is no Medical Officer permanently stationed at the camp. Doctors have been loaned by various organizations and they cannot afford to have a slack moment. Queues of patients wait for medical attention at all hours not always showing sufficient consideration to the disadvantages the doctor has to struggle against. Patients number between 450 and 500 daily mainly suffering from malnutrition, diarrhea, gastroenteritis, anemia, cholera and conjunctivitis. There are also some cases of tuberculosis. Large-scale hospitalization has not so far been found necessary; not more than 4 or 5 are sent a day to the Barasat hospital. Three persons were sent on Tuesday-Santiranjan De (15), Haralal Mondal (55) and Bijoy Choudhury (52). One of the doctors, young Ranjan Kumar Chaterjee said that hospitalization from the camp posed no serious problem. What was done at the Barasat hospital afterwards he could not say.
The BDO spoke highly of the services rendered by the relief organization – the Marwari Relief Society, CASA the Red Cross, Sri Sri Kashi Viswanath Seva Samiti and of course the Government of West Bengal Medical Unit. Kashi Viswanath Seva Samiti had a special role to play in feeding evacuees. The State Government supplied food to the Samiti which in its turn distributed it among the evacuees. Sixty volunteers of the Samiti are doing a labor of Love.
Dr. Ranjan Chatterjee, who believe in service with a smile was uncomplaining about his own hardship but was voluble about what he was unable to do for his patients in spite of his best efforts and of his able compounder Sudhir Kumar Dutta (46) an evacuee with hypertension from Jessor “Have you received jet inoculation equipment?” I asked. The doctor looked blank for a while and then confessed his ignorance about the device. In fact, he was unaware that it had come to West Bengal and was being used, “No, we haven’t got it, but it could certainly do a lot of good” he said Dr. Chatterjee was skeptical about the BDO’s claim that all the inmates of the camp had been vaccinated and inoculated. He had his reasons “Why, I inoculated people only today.” he stated. Jet inoculation, according to him, would be a speedy and convenient method of dealing with the problem. The causes of his large incidence of disease he thought were simple enough Unsatisfactory sanitation in spite of the regular use of lime and bleaching powder as disinfectants, and the fact that the evacuees got indigestion out of eating atap rice to which they are not accustomed. “What are the things that you need most urgently?” I asked. Dr. Chatterjee was prompt with his answer. A saline-fluid set, and replenishment of his stock of medicine. Sulphaguanidine. Enterostrep, Mexaform, Dulcolax for intestinal trouble, Sulfadiazine for coughs and cold and fever Capramin a decongestant. Avil which cures allergies. Iberol tables which produce blood, Glucose 250 and terramycin injections to fight cholera. Cortasmyl to relieve asthma and most important of all multivitamins for nutrition. Ranjan Chatterjee sadly shook his head and said, “Protein that’s what they need. Isn’t it a shame that one reads in the papers about dried con fish piled up at the airport and the evacuees not getting any of it?”
Reference: Hindustan Standard, 09.06.1971