As the rescue operations in flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir are tapering off and the victims are being attended to in scores of relief camps, most of which have been set up by the locals, fear of an epidemic still looms in the affected areas.
A senior doctor at the Soura Medical Institute in Srinagar said that the floodwaters mixed with sewage have remained stagnant for many days leading to increased breeding of mosquitoes, which can be vectors of diseases.
"The stagnant waters around homes have a strong potential for the spread of faeco-oral transmitted diseases like cholera, hepatitis, typhoid etc."
Hundreds of animal carcasses are scattered in the inundated areas of Srinagar.
At places, the bloated carcasses are emitting foul smell making life difficult for residents living in these areas.
Opposition Peoples Democratic Party president and MP Mehbooba Mufti, in a statement on Friday, said: “Forget about picking up threads of life again, the inability to dispose of dead animals has made it impossible for survivors to even visit these areas.”
A senior Srinagar Municipal Corporation official said the carcasses are being removed from areas where floodwaters have receded.
He said that 250 cows, which perished when floodwaters inundated the army dairy farm spread over several hectares near Bemina locality of the capital city, were removed and later disposed off.
So far, 400 carcasses had been collected from various areas of Srinagar and disposed off, he added.
Chief Minister Omar Andulla, meanwhile, has reiterated that priority has been given to making hospitals functional and cleaning garbage and carcasses from the flood-hit
The Jammu and Kashmir government has been paralyzed by the recent catastrophic floods and has been facing strong criticism from the affected population.
The chief minister said that several teams are on way to Srinagar to begin fumigation operations.
Floodwaters in various localities are posing a big challenge for the administration, but Omar said that heavy-duty pumps have been installed and more would be put in service to drain out the water.
State Health Commissioner Gazanfar Ali says that one million chlorine tablets have been distributed in the affected areas while another one million are being distributed.
The city has been divided into three municipal zones headed by senior officers to ensure urgency and efficiency in city’s clean up process.
Restoration of telecom services
The state government has asked the cellular companies to restore services in the flood hit Kashmir Valley on a ‘war footing’.
Omar Abdullah took a meeting with the various telecommunication companies operating in the state on Friday and asked them to upgrade their efforts for complete restoration of mobile and internet services in the Valley as early as possible, an official statement said.
The representatives of the companies assured the chief minister that everything possible will be done to restore the services completely.
