Gangavathi is a taluk which is now home to a big challenge which is choked drains and open garbage, overflowing drains and open garbage dumps are not just unsightly, but they pose serious health risks, especially to the children. From the streets of Vedrahatti to villages housing over three thousand families, the challenges of open drains loom large. Ms. V Jaya Sheela who is a resident of this village tells us how this problem is affecting her and the health of her children. “Our children get sick for 15 days or months, they suddenly fall sick and we don’t know the reason behind it, when we take them to the doctor then they tell us they got an infection due to unhygienic environment. Due to this, they miss their studies because they can’t attend the school.”
The problem does not end here local people also suffer from the bad smells which leads to health issues like headache, diarrhoea, nauseous feeling, etc. “We face many problems like foul smell, due to these open sewers there have been instances that while children were playing, they fell in it. When we file the complaint in panchayat then they send the waste collecting truck or people to clean it but after cleaning they leave the waste on the road only. The waste collecting truck comes once a month. When it rains it becomes the same situation as the waste which they leave on the road goes back into the sewer and choke it. Now this problem has been there for 15-20 years and when we tell the problem to the authorities they say if this problem is in the whole village, then only, they will take some steps. If any animal dies in the sewage, then we only remove it from there and clean the sewage” says Sheela.
The problem with open drains is that for a long time even after complaining to the panchayat no action has been taken by the authority to curb this issue, residents have to manage everything by themselves if an animal dies inside the drain, they have to clean it by themselves. “All these gutters have been like this for a long time and no one cares to clean them. Whenever we go to panchayat, they say that they are doing something about this problem but in reality, no measures are taken from their side to cure this problem. No one comes in our village to stay for a night especially in the rainy season as the drain overflow during that time and sometimes the drain water comes inside our homes” said Ms. Hambida B, resident.
Choked drainage systems and open garbage disposals have created a breeding ground for mosquitoes leading to the rise of waterborne diseases. Medical experts tell the impact of waterborne diseases on public health especially on children and the elderly. “Solid waste management and open drainage is a big issue in this part of the country as the water is polluted with so many bacteria, germs and chemicals which leads to many waters borne diseases like typhoid, fever, hepatitis A, dengue, malaria, cholera and diarrheal diseases and the root cause of open drainage. On a daily basis, almost 60 to 70 per cent of diarrheal cases we receive and along with that typhoid is very common. Daily we see 4-5 cases of typhoid only. Since last year there has been an increase of 35% in typhoid cases” said Dr Satish Raikar.
After knowing the problem of the locals when talked to the panchayat the scenario was totally opposite. According to them there is no such problem of chocked drains in the whole village and are planning to make more sewage for the better functioning of the drains. “Last year we built six drains and this year by the end of March we are planning to build 30 more drains and the waste collecting truck goes alternatively in each locality as we have only one truck to collect the garbage.”
Doctor says that to fight these diseases people need to take care of themselves by drinking clean purified water, and maintaining basic sanitation, but this is the part of people. The government has a big role in this too. To stop the rising number of diseases they need to maintain the sewage and drains and make sure that all the drains in areas especially with localities are fully covered.
