RUKUM: Three more diarrhoea patients died in various villages of Rukum today. With this the diarrhoeal toll in the district has reached 49.

Gopal Sunar (55) of Shova-1, Phiuri Buda (48) of Gotamkot-5 and Sital Sarki (3) of Aathbiskot-8 succumbed to the epidemic, Rukum District Police Office said.

Even as the patients in the villages have been lamenting over the short supply of medicines and unavailability of health workers, the authorities state that there are sufficient health workers and medicines in the affected areas. The disease is yet to be brought under control even after nearly three months of its first reported death in neighbouring Jajarkot district.

Meanwhile, one more person succumbed to the diarrhoea in Dailekh district today, taking the death there to 19. Nan Kala Jaisi (62) of Bhairikalikathum-7 died of the disease, Dailekh District Public Heath Office said, adding that the disease had claimed three lives in the same VDC yesterday. Hundreds of people are suffering from the disease in the VDC. "Teams of health workers from the DPHO and Bhawani Box Battalion of Nepali Army have been dispatched to the village today," said Dr Gunraj Awasthi, chief, DPHO. The NA team said that it was difficult to control the outbreak in Bharikalikathum VDC since it was not possible to visit every household due to geographical remoteness.

Over 10,000 patients are still in dire need of medical care in the district.The situation has been worsened lately as there has been a dearth of medicine in the district after disruption of traffic due to the landslide. As vehicular movement along the Dailekh-Surkhet road has been come to a halt due to landslides at many points, medicines-loaded trucks meant for the hilly district are stranded for the past eight days. "The disease may claim more lives if the medicines are not supplied at the earliest," Dr Awasthi said.

5,000 toilets to be constructed

Kathmandu: Minister for Health and Population Umakanta Chaudhary said on Monday that the government was preparing to construct more than 5,000 toilets for the people in the diarrhoea and cholera-affected mid and far-western districts within three months. "The government relief package will include the construction of 5,000 toilets, water treatment plants, distribution of 10 kg rice and 1 kg salt to each family, installing CDMA telephone service and launching awareness programme in each VDC of the affected districts," he said. He also claimed that the epidemic was brought under control to a large extent. — HNS

Jajarkot ill, Banke treated

BANKE: District Public Health Office Jajarkot has started publishing awareness notices on Nepalgunj-based local tabloids, which are out of the reach of affected communities in the northern hilly districts. The newspapers, which are circulated only within Banke, are publishing information on diarrhoea and cholera diseases. Nepalgunj locals have said it is useless to publish such materials on Nepalgunj based newspapers as people of the affected regions do not get the newspapers. "It's a ridiculous act as the media campaign is on in Nepalgunj while the disease has spread in Jajarkot and taking toll there," said Satish Niraula. — HNS