A silent killer has been taking lives in Goa. And the killerhas been striking in the heart of Margao and not in remote nook in the cornervillages. The commercial city has been reeling under the threat of malaria, asthe virus has claimed over 50 lives since 2008.
Open spaces and numerous construction sites has convertedMargao into a haven for the malaria mosquito. “There are almost 154construction sites around Margao and Fatorda. Some of these sites areconstantly water logged,” said Dr Geeta Kakodkar Medical Superintendent ofMargao Urban Health Center. “Mosquitoes love stagnant water and constructionsites are the biggest threat,” she added.
In fact the basement of the new district hospital is floodedwith stagnant water.
With limited resources, health authorities do their best tokeep a tab on the construction sites, Dr Kakodkar said. Labourers at theconstruction sites are being thoroughly scanned, as they are the biggestcarriers of vector borne diseases, she added.
Slums at Moti Dongor, Azad Nagri and Fatehpur are unhygienicand also carriers of Malaria, the medical superintendent revealed. She furtherdisclosed that ladies from these slums work as domestic helps across Margao,Borda, Fatorda and Aquem, thereby carrying the virus from house to house.
In January this year Dr Kakodkar had temporarily stoppedconstruction at the New District Hospital, as the construction workers failedto adhere to health rules. They had not undergone the mandatory screening anddid not possess health cards.
Seven months down the line, with monsoon at its peak, theNew District Hospital is back in the news. The basement of the building isflooded with stagnant water.
The GSIDC appointed construction agency, MVR Construction,has pressed labourers to clear the water in the basement. Over 100 labourersliving on the site stand in knee deep water and use plastic buckets to emptythe flooded basement.
Many construction sites in Fatorda and Margao are engaged insimilar activity to get rid of stagnant water from the stilt parking orbasement construction.
South Goa Collector, N D Agarwal has issued an orderpreventing citizens from throwing tender coconut shells and other wastematerial in the open, which leads to collection of rainwater.
Margao Health Center reports around 54 malaria cases aloneper month besides those of Dengue and Chikungunya. Other hospitals andpathology labs -- Grace Cardiac Hospital, Raikar Pathology Labs and otherlaboratories across the city report an additional twenty cases.
Dr Kakodkar also points out that over 400 constructionmigrant workers who gather behind the municipality are also a potential threatto the city.
