The warning comes as hundreds of thousands of people in the quake-hit districts are still living in unhygienic condition in the makeshift shelters, according to the officials."Monsoon is an epidemic season and outbreak of diseases have already started in the pre monsoon period," Dr Baburam Marasini, director at the EDCD, said. He informed that the EDCD has asked the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) to cancel leave of health workers in the upcoming monsoon.
According to Dr Marasini, the EDCD has written a formal letter to the ministry requesting it to cancel leave of the health workers serving in the government health facilities across the country. He said that chances of outbreak of diseases are high as lots of people living in unhygienic condition and using water from available sources whether they be clean or polluted.
"A lot of water resources have dried up in the quake-hit districts. So people are forced to use unhygienic water," Dr Marasini, added. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake of April 25 last year not only destroyed villages but also dried up the water sources. Over 325 water sources of 14 quake-hit districts have dried up after the devastating quake. The data provided by the Department of Water Supply and Sewage (DWSS) show that water production of 617 sources has shrunk. Similarly 3,067 water sources of 14 highly affected districts have been completely damaged and 4, 836 partially damaged.
Dr Marasini said that chances of outbreak of vector-borne diseases are also high and the EDCD does not have budget and program to control them.
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