Central measures to meet challenge of epidemic
From Our Special Correspondent, NEW DELHI. June, 8- The Union Government is taking all measures to meet the challenge of cholera epidemic among Bangladesh refugees. But measures are yet below standard.
One of the biggest problems facing the West Bengal Government is to provide ambulance transport for those suspected to be suffering from cholera from border areas to hospital points.
Mr. D. P. Chottopadhyay, Minister of State, Health, told this correspondent today that the Centre was trying to have about 60 ambulance vehicles by the end of this week. These vehicles will include those collected from the Army, about 20 from Bangalore and others from UNICEF and Calcutta.
Meanwhile a plan for the dispersal of East Bengal refugees is being worked out here. The authorities are not yet certain about its details.
Mr. Chattopadhyay thinks that there is no difficulty about medicine to meet the challenge but that it is a question of transport. Cholera patients crossing into the Indian border areas must be quickly transferred to hospitals or health centers. That is a key point.
All internal resources are being tapped. Meanwhile, there will not be any deficiency of medicine by and large. Some of the big pharmaceutical concerns have been asked to work to their full capacity.
The Union Government will coordinate the efforts of all international agencies giving aid to East Bengal.
Cholera epidemic has broken out amidst Bangladesh refugees in Nadia. 24-Parganas and the Bongaon areas. The worst affected area is Nadia-the Shikarpur-Karimpur border Hundreds of bodies are littered on the roadside. Dogs and vultures are eating bodies.
But things on the other side of the Indian border are quite different. The Pakistanis are not worried about the fleeing refugees. Pakistanis are throwing the dead into the waters of Jalangi river.
At least seven border districts of West Bengal are currently affected by the threat of cholera epidemic.
Meanwhile, the Indian Railways had offered four special trains to move at least 5,000 Bangladesh refugees from West Bengal to the Mana camp in Madhya Pradesh a day.
The railways had started moving refugees to Mana since June 2 but the number was not much for various reasons. An official of the Ministry of Rehabilitation is flying to Calcutta tomorrow to finalize things so that they could move about 5,000 refugees a day to Mana camp.
The Centre it seems is yet to work out how many of the refugees it could transfer temporarily from Eastern India to the rest of the country. A high official of the Rehabilitation Ministry is flying to Calcutta tomorrow to have talks with State Government officers. This is the reason why two officials of the West Bengal Government did not turn up here to discuss relief issues with Central officials.
Reference: Hindustan Standard, 09.06.1971