Kathmandu, November 1:

Waterborne diseases like cholera and dysentery are killing people across the Tarai every day. The diseases are raging in the Tarai, mainly due to lack of awareness.

According to data collected by the NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation (NGOFUWS) from July 4 to October 12, 270 cases of death were reported in different parts of the Tarai. Thousands of people are suffering from diarrhoeal diseases and the number is increasing by the day.

Talking to this daily, Dr Bindeshwar Prasad Yadav, focal point for diseases and outbreak control at the Epidemiology and Diseases Control Division under the Department of Health Services, said several outbreaks have been reported in different parts of the Tarai.

Waterborne diseases spread after the floods due to contamination of sources of water and lack of sanitation facilities. “These diseases are contagious. They are spreading because people lack awareness on these diseases and due to the intake of contaminated water,” Yadhav said.

The government has distributed medicines, including Ringer Lactate. “These diseases diseases may spread in other villages. The risk of spread of the disease is increasing every day,” he said. “In Dhanusha alone, cholera has gripped 25 VDCs. The situation can get worse if measures to control this outbreak are not taken immediately.”

He said that these villagers lack awareness on sanitation, adding that the government has failed to make the people aware because it has limited manpower and limited resources at its disposal.